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Features Introducing NEM3SI$’s new label Infinite Resistance! Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters!

Hearing What? Reported by Adam Symbiosis / Submitted 09-05-07 19:48 Disconcerting as it may be, I’m deaf. But that’s not all; I have a blue gloop expanding slowly in each ear. “You can probably just about hear us but that’s because the sounds are being conducted through your skull,” mouths a man standing next to me. Too many late nights, in too many loud clubs? Still it’s better than having a constant ringing in my ears isn’t it? I’m not so sure either outcome is a good idea in any case, though that’s the way many people in clubland are headed, a life of distorted noises, ringing in the ears or complete deafness. All because we have to play it loud, feel the vibrations through our bodies and of course through our ears. We’ve covered hearing damage before, even given you interviews with notable people on the subject but this time I’m biting the bullet and in the interests of journalistic integrity I’m heading off to get some proper protection fitted so you’ll find out just how easy the procedure is. Richard Frankson So on a brisk Monday morning I find myself heading down to the offices of Sensorcom to find out about their products and how they can help you to have an even better weekend. As we pass through the Blackwall Tunnel thoughts cross my mind of probes being inserted into my ears and piercing my eardrum. Would it hurt? Would I still be able to hear? What exactly would happen? My mind was racing and I was anxious to get there. They say a busy street operates at about 78 – 85dB, loud enough to be a bother. How loud do you think your nearest club pumps out the latest tunes? Staggeringly it can be nearly as loud as being 25 metres away from a jumbo jet taking off or 140dB. It’s comparable to standing next to a chap with a pneumatic drill all night, though less said about certain clubs the better. Up and down we go until we find ourselves in a cold office. Before long it is filled with a warm, genial atmosphere generated by Richard Frankson, the Sales Director of Sensorcom. As he talks to us in his measured manner, it’s apparent he really loves his job and cares passionately about peoples hearing. And if he does, surely you should too! We talk about Bryan Adams and his pair of custom made earplugs. The (real) Police and their sets designed for them to be able to hear speech clearly at speeds of up to 130 mph, Formula 1 teams too, plus the 3 to 4 in the know DJs who currently visit their offices for fittings each week. As a company Sensorcom started selling 50 units a year, now they are selling 10,000. In fact one of the first projects they worked on was providing futures floor traders with earpieces so they could hear messages over the chaos of buying and selling, something not so incomparable to your local dance emporium. He points out the disdain glasses were treated with until a few years ago and even though they are corrective rather protective it’s an interesting simile. These days we’ve even got Glass Wearer Of The Year awards! But what will it take for more people to consider the real cost of their hearing? Is it complacency, or some bizarre act of not wanting to lose face in front of others? At exposure levels of 87db and above it’s actually a legal requirement for employers to provide their staff with earplugs, though there’s no such legislation in place to protect customers. Of course while you are taking into account the levels, you also need to remember that if you’re not wearing protection alcohol can affect your hearing, that you can be exposed to differing volumes for differing amounts of time before your hearing is damaged, or that your hearing levels change subtly over the course of the day. Think of listening to your iPod first thing in the morning at the same level as you listened to it late the previous day. Does it hurt? We talk about the fitting and of the different choices of filters on offer. I plump for their green filters, designed to cut out 26db at a range of frequencies. The key thing here though is that dangerous high-end frequencies are excluded more than lower ones, rather than there being a flat block out over the scale. In essence this means that someone talking next to you can be heard loud and clear while the louder top ends in the background are cut out. Harvey Franklin It doesn’t take long though before we are ushered into yet another room and it’s time for the procedure to take place. “Sit here please,” directs a chap I am soon to learn is Harvey Frankin, the chief audiologist. He displays the various apparatus of the process to me while he peers into my lugholes then invites the photographer to take in-depth shots of the very deepest parts of my ears. “That one is fine,” he says. “But your right ear looks like it has a bit of wax.” I ask if that’s going to be a problem while I both chastise myself for not scrubbing hard enough and wonder if it has anything to do with that being my listening ear while I play. It’s not going to affect the course of action however and so on we go. A small tampon is put into my ear, not quite of the Tampax style but it makes sure the silicon that’s coming shortly doesn’t reach my eardrum. Then a contraption not unlike the type used to pump polyfiller into your walls is produced. The gun contains medical grade silicon and a catalyst and we see as it slowly pumps up the tube how it is being mixed together. Inserted into my ear, the canal slowly fills with the cold blue substance until it feels as if it can’t go in any more. The strangest sensation then ensues as I watch the photographer and Harvey talk and discuss what looks to be the inner workings of the ear while I sit in absolute silence. In the mirror I see my ears covered, it’s like I’m a reject from Star Trek, but in my head it’s all calm. I can hear my thoughts clearly and fascinatingly a tranquillity descends on me. Every now and again the others try to talk to me but I can’t be bothered to try and make out what they are saying. I’m glad I didn’t close my eyes, as I probably would have drifted off to sleep. It’s certainly interesting when there’s noise about you all the time to have a period of complete silence. Just think now, what can you hear? Someone in your office telling a bad joke? The sound of traffic or airplanes? The hum of your central heating? We are surrounded by sound all the time and usually it falls away into the background, it becomes your everyday hearing threshold. After around 10 minutes of bliss it’s time for the moulds to come out. In that short time though, I’ve gained a good understanding that losing your hearing is not a good thing. I expected more of a popping of a bottle feeling but Harvey is skilled and slowly works the now set mould out of my ears with the minimum of fuss before directing us round to the rear of the office to show us what happens next to my two squiggly, blue lumps or more precisely the imprint of my ear canal. Through a door we find a lab with five technicians surrounded by the sounds of the radio and the smell of acrylic. Silicon and acrylic shavings cover the floor as the techs work busily away on other plugs. The mould has a number of stages as it travels round the room from technician to technician before it winds its way back to me. It gains a uniform layer of wax, then is put in a pot and covered by a seaweed based gel. After 20 minutes or so the mould can be removed from the gel, only for the leftover hole to be filled with two types of plastic, a monomer and a polymer. A special type of pressure cooker fuelled by compressed air gets rid of any bubbles in the gel so the new mix can’t flood out into it. The new plugs are then given a satin finish either by machine or hand. More finishing solutions are used to polish and cure the mould leaving a soft, clear and shiny earplug, in which a filter or speaker will eventually go. Despite the quick 15-minute run though we get, the whole process usually takes about 3 to 4 days. Back we go to run through the worrying outcomes of too much loud music - tinnitus and Hyperacousis. Most of us have had a good laugh at “It’s All Gone Pete Tong” but the reality is at least life changing and at worse soul destroying. Constant noise; a ringing maybe, buzzing possibly, hissing likely, awaits people who develop tinnitus. You’ve probably already experienced a very mild form of this problem. Think back to a very loud night, did you hear noises in your ears when you were at home trying to sleep? If the answer is no then you’ve been lucky. You should also take into account that tinnitus is cumulative. Just because it stopped after a day last time, doesn’t mean it’ll do that same next time. It might be three days, or a week, or maybe it won’t stop at all. Then there are the extreme and painful reactions to certain frequencies that inflict those who have Hyperacousis. The click-clack of your train to work, the kettle boiling or maybe just one particular frequency from the TV. Neither experiences are fun, neither is curable. You may be able to manage your problem and alleviate some of the symptoms, but like someone with chronic back pain, it never goes away and it will certainly reduce if not stop your enjoyment of music altogether. Let’s be clear as well, this is not just a problem for old people. Audiologists, including those at Sensorcom, are already seeing more and more people in their 30’s (and now even 20’s) that show signs of hearing damage and loss. Do you really want to be another statistic? Harderfaster supports hearing protection unequivocally, we don’t want to ruin your night but we don’t want you to damage your hearing either. That’s why we think that Sensorcom’s products are right for you. You’ll still be able to hear the music clearly, you’ll certainly still feel the rumble of the nearest Funktion1 soundsystem and most importantly you won’t need to have someone screaming in your ear next time they ask what drink you want. In fact it makes the whole experience more enjoyable, more comfortable and instead of ringing ears the only thing you’ll be taking home from the club is someone else if you’re lucky. That’s why we’ve negotiated an extra discount on their already market leading prices. You can choose to buy their generic Musicsafe Pro earplugs, snug and easy to fit in any ear, for the special price of £12.50. You find these come with a handy carry case and three different strengths of filters depending on the level of noise you encounter. Find them under the Music, Clubbing and Concerts section. Or for more discrete protection you can choose to have a fitting for their custom made earplugs, just like I did, at the reduced price of £60. Extra comfortable and with (for the DJs among you) the ability to use them while playing, at your fitting you’ll be able to choose the strength you want, under guidance, from a 15, 20, 25 or 30db reduction across a range of frequencies. Find them under the Custom Fit Earplugs section. Both come with free shipping saving you even more money, so for either models, just link through to Sensorcom from here click on Earplugs and Hearing Protection and look out for our logo to get your special discount. Ultimately, what price will you put on your hearing? Adam Symbiosis Share this :: : : : Follow HarderFaster :: Other Features By Adam Symbiosis: Godskitchen Xmas Party: Reviewed The Big Chill: Reviewed Tiësto at Victoria Park: Reviewed Lilly Allen: Reviewed Digital Society May 2009: Reviewed The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable. Comments: From: Andy Dunford on 9th May 2007 20:07.18 Excellent article. Everybody who goes clubbing regularly should protect their ears. If you're a serious football or cricket player, you wouldn't go onto the field without shin pads or cricket pads so if clubbing is your major hobby why play the gauntlet with your ears? It took me a while to realise this - one night at Canvas did the trick though when my ears rang for 3 days. I've got the ER-15's now and I hate it when I occasionally forget them. From: sexyminx on 9th May 2007 20:17.37 Andy Dunford, are you repeating yourself, i say are you repeating yourself From: Carine on 9th May 2007 21:09.33 Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about music being too loud in clubs. Louder seems to be better in most places. The best present I ever got are my ER 15, I wouldn't go to a club now without them... Very informative article... thanks Adam From: Matt-Endemic on 9th May 2007 23:17.19 Very good article. Been putting off getting some for ages, so this has given me the kick in the arse to sort them out! From: Mike Harris on 10th May 2007 00:18.47 Had some er - 15's or 25's and they got stolen in ibiza when all my money got nicked, am saving up to get some more but for me it was already to late really, i have tinitus, sometimes its hard to get to sleep at night but ive gotten more used to it now, but i defo need to get more plugs, i find it much more difficult to enjoy a night out now as im always concious of my hearing and therefore rarely venture onto the dancefloor, even my local pubs that play music make my ears ring quite badly afterwards! Good article, get some plugs before it too late for you! From: Zimma on 10th May 2007 04:45.11 Nice man, will definitely be going to see them ASAP. Is there any ideas on how long the offer will be running? Thanks! From: Manne on 10th May 2007 06:43.27 Good stuff mate. And thanks for sorting out the HF offer. Lost my comfy earplugs when moving a few months ago and have now replaced them with a nice and shiny pair of Sensorcom ones. From: Dubster on 10th May 2007 08:48.58 As someone now suffering with the constant ringing in their ears for the rest of their lives due to the loudness in clubs I would urge everyone to get a decent pair of earplugs - tinnitus sucks I tell ya. It takes a while to get used to using them, but a few hours into the night and you will forget you've got them in - until you take them out and scare the crap out of yourself with just what you've been bombarding your ears with. I left it too late, and I regret it badly. Thankfully I caught it early enough for it to not be of major detriment to my life and intend to not let it get any worse. Buy some now. From: Cerberus on 10th May 2007 08:58.51 great piece Ad - your deft touch bringing entertaining touches to a serious problem? will invest in next month or so! From: K8-e on 10th May 2007 09:16.32 Someone recommended Sensorcom to me last week so the discount is really timely. Fantastic article. You can also get the mould made locally and send it off to them I believe if you don't live nearby. Their Web site gives full details. This is something we should all do to help ourselves but truly SHAME on the clubs that allow music to be way too loud. You cannot put a price on people's hearing. From: GMReq on 10th May 2007 09:28.03 Good work Mr Symbiosis. Will have to raid the piggy bank for these babies. From: djdyju on 10th May 2007 09:47.52 Excellent read. I have had ER15s for a while now and can highly recommend them. Anyone who is serious about their clubbing and djing should protect their hearing From: Neats on 10th May 2007 10:58.37 Brilliant, I strongly advise any clubber and dj to get proper custom made ear plugs. Nice one Harderfaster!! From: Ian H on 10th May 2007 12:24.12 60 quid for custom fit plugs is a fantastic price too - I spent 160 on my ER-15s and thought it worth the price so this should be a no-brainer. Well done for negotiating such a great discount From: SAMSON on 10th May 2007 13:42.57 Good read, well written & documented. Good luck with your ears Adam, I know the feeling! www.harddjs.com From: dj onrush on 10th May 2007 13:59.02 very interesting! well done! From: Neats on 10th May 2007 16:03.39 called them today and they were very helpful!! From: Greg Blaquiere on 10th May 2007 18:17.11 Got myself a custom made pair about a year ago. I dont use them as much as I should but certain occasions they've been a godsend. From: Nacho on 10th May 2007 18:54.46 Nice one Adam! Great article! Everyone should own one! From: Frank E on 10th May 2007 19:01.58 The much anticipated hearing protection article :-) The first time I realised I actually had hearing damage was when I was going through a company medical and they showed me the audiograph. The big dip in the high frequency responsiveness is the signature of noise-induced hearing loss. Age induced hearing loss is in the low frequency band so my old age is going to be in a mid-band world. Trying on my Father's hearing aid really hit it home how much damage I've been doing to my hearing which expedited me in getting fitted up for ER-15s. I'd just spent way too much on serious hi-fi and determined to get the return on my investment for many years to come. The hearing loss has caused a lot of problems socially. In a bar with a group of friends I'm left on the outside because I'm not picking up what people are saying. In a club I couldn't even attempt to have a conversation. I haven't had Tinnitus or Hyperacusis for years but it used to drive me nuts gettting to sleep at night with it and ended up in the THC centre. A colleague's father had quite a major depression due to Tinnitus. I lost my ER-15s in a club earlier this year. They were 140 pounds so this great offer is very appealing. As I don't live in London being able to get the moulds of my outer ear canal locally makes things a lot easier. From: Ben Gomori on 11th May 2007 12:07.02 ARGGHHHHH I JUST PAID £200 all in for mine! gash. Good work Adam - people need to sort their ear protection out. I've started DJing with mine in too in some places and it's actually easy once you get used to it From: sexyserah on 12th May 2007 10:12.42 Good read sweetie very informative!!xx From: northernlass on 12th May 2007 11:57.21 Good work - can we also encourage a drive to make djs and sound engineers responsible for appalling sound levels in clubs? From: Ian Edwards on 12th May 2007 14:21.54 Great Article adam. As you probably know i am one of the walking wounded too. I have been wearing my ER-9s for about 1 and a half years, and have a continuous low frequency hum in both my ears which i have learned to live with. This is "permanent" damage from loud speakers over the years. I strongly advice all you clubbers and djs to take action now before it's too late. From: Joanna McEwen on 14th May 2007 12:37.26 definitely going to get some. and for those of you who have friends who are constantly in clubs get some for them too! i tell ya, nothing more annoying than someone having the blanket excuse of not hearing you when you ask them to do something (not thinking of anyone in particular of course....) From: Lorenzo Barrero on 15th May 2007 09:18.13 Wicked article Adam! Definately something i should start thinking about now, before it's too late! From: Prozak on 17th May 2007 14:52.14 whaaaaat? From: andyandy on 18th May 2007 09:34.01 Very good write up, and £60 is a BARGAIN for custom made ones, i paid an extra £100 on top of that for mine! From: Timmy Whiz on 18th May 2007 10:45.32 60 sheets is a blinding price for these , or should that be defining price?? From: Anastasia_k on 20th May 2007 00:53.50 This is an excellent article... However to late for me my damage is done, and clubbing days near enough over. But everyone should get these fitted as a precaution. Now you all know what to put on your birthday/ christmas list! From: Darz on 22nd May 2007 18:45.19 I had mine done there at £120 bout 2 yrs ago, £60 is somewhat of a bargain From: Prozak on 23rd May 2007 09:06.11 hey guys, i'm going there today, the price works out at £70.50p thats £60 plus vat and free delivery, still very worth it, considering it used to be £100 more in the past. From: Dean Zone on 23rd May 2007 12:38.01 Just ordered mine. From: Saqib on 24th May 2007 11:07.45 been using generic plugs for ages, but always thought customs would cost too much, but £60 is quality, very good article guys, and a great offer. will seriously consider ordering some custom ones. From: JTB on 27th May 2007 10:09.39 possibly read this article a bit too late judging by the ringing i've had in right ear for the last 5 days. will get the cheapis straight away til i can get down for a fitting. nice one adam

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