{"id":655118,"date":"2026-08-25T06:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T06:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/655118\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T06:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T06:04:16","slug":"dont-make-the-same-mistake-i-did-belfast-dj-urges-eventgoers-to-wear-earplugs-following-noise-induced-hearing-loss-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/655118\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Don\u2019t make the same mistake I did\u2019 \u2013 Belfast DJ urges eventgoers to wear earplugs following noise-induced hearing loss \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Belfast DJ<\/a> is urging people attending music events to protect their ears after years of being in loud venues left her with noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Natalie Simpson, known professionally as KEM, was diagnosed with the condition just over two years ago and attributes her hearing loss to years of regular exposure to loud music at gigs<\/a>, festivals and clubs since her teens.<\/p>\n

The 36-year-old has had to halt her promising DJ career on the advice of her doctor.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/b>Hard-of-hearing music fans prefer a different sound, research suggests<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Man<\/a>\"Former<\/a><\/p>\n

While previously experiencing tinnitus<\/a> for around ten days after a loud noise in a headset while working online, she had been told by an audiologist that she didn\u2019t need to worry.<\/p>\n

\"NatalieNatalie said that while she would often experience ringing in her ears after events, she assumed it was normal as it would disappear – until two years ago, it didn’t PICTURE: BRIAN LINCOLN <\/p>\n

However, in 2024, the sound didn\u2019t disappear after a string of gigs and she eventually received a diagnosis after being seen by an ears, nose and throat (ENT) doctor. <\/p>\n

Speaking to The Irish News, Natalie said that while hearing loss and tinnitus impacts everyone differently, it \u201ckind of flipped [her] life upside down\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was starting to do really well with DJing \u2013 I had to cancel gigs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was absolutely gutted; I love music so much, and I was excited to see where it was going with DJing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d just played in Dublin, that was me outside of Belfast, and I was excited to maybe go further.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SamuelsRNIB says that ear plugs can help prevent lasting damage when attending music events PICTURE: PA\/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO <\/p>\n

After her diagnosis, Natalie said that she was in a \u201cdark space\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just over two years later, I\u2019m doing so much better, and things are great, but for a lot of people, it takes a lot to adjust to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt really guilty, and very frustrated \u2013 and you grieve the life that you think you could have had, and you grieve, the life that you\u2019re kind of in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty rough \u2013 but I\u2019m doing much better.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to hearing loss charity RNIB, repeated and prolonged exposure to high sound levels can pose a risk to hearing or cause tinnitus (experiencing sounds not caused by an outside source) and is one of the biggest causes of hearing loss. <\/p>\n

However, lasting damage is preventable by taking simple steps, such as wearing ear plugs when attending live events. <\/p>\n

In their new study, RNIB found that 83% of Gen Z adults (aged 20-29) have experienced ringing, buzzing or muffled hearing after attending loud music events, with only 7% saying that they always wear hearing protection. <\/p>\n

One-in-four Gen Z adults said that they would feel embarrassed to wear earplugs, while a similar level (23%) said they didn\u2019t think they needed them.<\/p>\n

Natalie said that she was sharing her story to raise awareness now she has the experience she didn\u2019t have in her younger years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wish that I had known, really, what tinnitus meant,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was very young, I would hear it after a night out, but I just thought that went hand in hand with the night out, I didn\u2019t know that it meant that there could be damage happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that it\u2019s important that people still enjoy themselves at events, but that they can do so safely by not standing too close to speakers, taking breaks from loud areas and by wearing earplugs. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want people to see that there is a choice; it is preventable and just having the knowledge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t make the same mistake, that I did, because it\u2019s not something you want to live with.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does impact your life a fair bit and making the choice to wear a set of earplugs, it\u2019s nothing compared to what it would be like.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou only get one set of ears; you can\u2019t change it once it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Belfast DJ is urging people attending music events to protect their ears after years of being in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":655119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[74],"tags":[663,74232,18,107454,18268,19,17,337,276984,82,104066],"class_list":["post-655118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-belfast","tag-dj","tag-eire","tag-health-and-wellbeing","tag-hearing","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music","tag-rnib","tag-technology","tag-tinnitus"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117154642045978493","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}