I guess it takes all kinds in this world. Last friday I met one of the most interesting people I have ever encountered. I can't say he is a rarity by what he has done to himself [or claims he has done to himself] , but his outlook on his reduction in hearing is certainly interesting.

I work in the entertainment business. This means I work a variety of shows mainly dealing with incredibly large sound levels. Anything from rock and jazz to '50,000 watts of frakin' bass' techno shows. So for me its not too uncommon to run into musicians and dj's who are HOH. The phenomena of being HOH in some cases could be genetic, but more often then not I find that most of these folks are suffering from NIHL (Noise Induced Hearing Loss).

Well last friday I just happened to run into someone who was HOH on the dancefloor at a techno club. First I thought well it's cool, maybe its genetic or something. Well no, come to find out this guy is claiming that his loss of hearing is directly the result of NIHL. But he claimed to be really cool with it and said he was absolutly not interested in wearing any kind of ear protection to prevent any further damage.

I found this absolutly stunning.

For someone like myself who has permanent tinnitus that gets aggrivated by loud sounds [or changes in blood pressure, diet, or more often for no known reason at all] I can not understand this. But what I found really interesting is that while he does seem to have some level of NIHL, it seems to be very sporadic. Which is to say he goes back and forth from reading lips heavily to being able to hear. I've found for me personally this happens with tinnitus sufferers. Appearently this guy is some steps further out.

Anyways I wound up not talking with this guy very much as it was an afterparty at his place and the music was at levels I wasnt willing to sit in the room with since I left my plugs in the car. I guess I was kinda miffed too, because I have friends who would give anything to have his level of unassisted hearing (on the moment that it was good) and he is seemingly [or giving the appearance of] just throwing it away.


Anyways as I was about to leave he put this movie in my hands. Its called "It's All Gone Pete Tong", [description from amazon.com]: its a comedy following the tragic life of legendary Frankie Wilde. The story takes us through Frankie's life from one of the best DJ's alive, through subsequent battle with a hearing disorder, culminating in his mysterious disappearance from the club scene. A genius in his own right, he clawed his way to the top of the DJ ranks, now living the opulent life of a superstar, he resides in his trophy villa in Ibiza with his trophy wife. This is when tragedy hits. Born with a hearing disorder he is rapidly going deaf with only one functioning ear to complete the new Ibiza season.

How is he doing behind the decks? Horrible. How is he doing in the studio where he produces his remixes? Frankie dives into a low period, struggling with deafness in utter depression. After a year of locking himself away he emerges on the other side with a fresh attitude towards his affliction. He accepts his deafness and learns to function without sound. Will Frankie make it back to the DJ booth? Will his new single be any good? Will he get back his opulent old life or does he even want it back? When you can't hear, things look very different.

So thats what the movie is about. It made me raise an eyebrow as I was a little blown away. This is what makes me think that as brave as he is about his hearing loss, that it is genetic and instead this dj is making some quasi-attempt at macho 'hearing loss by loud music' attitude.

I can't say I understand some of the people I meet on the dancefloor... I guess I'm still blown away, but I thought I would share it with someone.