THE memories of a great club night or gig can last a lifetime. Sadly, so can the damage these nights could cause to your hearing. Jack Barton knows this only too well.

For 22-year-old Jack, music is his life. But he believes being exposed to loud music at gigs, clubbing and DJ-ing, has caused permanent damage to his hearing in the form of tinnitus.

Jack hopes his experience of living with the condition at such an early age will make people listen – and face the music in a different way.

Now he takes care of his ears, and even avoids listening to his MP3 player through headphones, something he’s done since he was 14.

“I really limit the amount of stuff I listen to now. I limit the exposure, it’s been a bit of a wake-up call,” says Jack, whose in his third year studying English Language at Manchester University. “So anything that’s not essential, I don’t do. I still listen to music all the time at home, but through decent speakers at a reasonable level.”

Looking back, Jack, who is originally from Stockport, believes he was 17 when he first noticed the now familiar buzzing in his ears. His love for house and techno music had grown and he started clubbing two or three times a week. In 2008 Jack started DJ-ing, but 18 months ago he thought his world had come to an end.

“I just felt this dull ringing sound that completely deafened me in my left ear for about 20 seconds then slowly faded away.

“The first time that happened my heart literally sank, I thought I had gone deaf in my left ear. It’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

As he researched this phenomena, Jack came across the condition tinnitus. Although he hasn’t been diagnosed, Jack saw that his experienced matched the stories of tinnitus sufferers.

This week is Tinnitus Awareness Week and Jack is keen to warn others of the danger signs. Describing the sounds, he says: “It varies. In its very weakest form it’s like a very high pitch monotone coming mainly from my left ear, but sometimes my right. On worse occasions it can be much deeper, much louder and really drowns out all the sound. It’ll last 30 seconds then slowly fades away into a much higher frequency whine. This used to happen a couple of times a day. But now it only happens once a week because I’ve taken more care of my ears.”

Worried, Jack messaged his friends who were clubbers, DJs and promoters on Facebook to see if anyone else had experienced what he had. He found out he wasn’t alone.

“It turned out a lot of people were genuinely really, really scared about their hearing and what they were experiencing,” explains Jack, “but nobody really got to talk about it.”

Despite having played at Micron and Fingerprint in Manchester, as well as around the country, Jack has put his DJ-ing on the back burner while he concentrates on his degree. While he’s noticed his condition has got better as he’s reduced his exposure to loud music, once he’s graduated from university he is determined tinnitus won’t stop him from returning to the decks.

Jack got in contact with an ear protection company called ACS which manufactures products to protect the hearing of people who work and socialise in areas where there are dangerously high sound levels. He is currently waiting to be fitted with professional ear plugs.

But, while this student has heard the future, he believes there are some people who don’t realise the very real risk to their hearing. “There are some places I go now where I walk in and, if I don’t have ear protection on me, I literally just walk back out again because you can feel it tickling your ears,” Jack explains.

“When that is happening you know it’s too loud, but people just endure the whole night with it. People come out and say ‘My ears are well ringing’, that happened to me. One time I came out and they were ringing and the ringing just didn’t go away.”

According to the British Tinnitus Association, noise levels at gigs, concerts and clubs regularly exceed the recommended limit (85 decibels) that is safe to be exposed to for any length of time, with sound levels easily reaching 115dB. Without protection this can cause hearing damage in less than 30 seconds.

As well as taking precautions, Jack also tries to educate his friends. “I was on a night out in Leeds and I was with my production partner,” he recalls. “We went into this venue and it was the loudest I have ever experienced, I couldn’t stay in that room. Luckily a lot of bars at the clubs give out free foam earplugs.

“We both got a pair of them and our group of friends there were looking at us saying: ‘What are you doing? Why have you got them in?’, and I said: ‘Listen, you need to get these in otherwise you are going to suffer tomorrow or in the future – this is far too loud’.

“I regret not being aware of it and taking action sooner because my hearing and ears are already down that path now and are damaged.

“I don’t have perfect hearing now because of that. And, to me, that’s a big thing. Touch wood, it’s not so bad now and it’s not taken over my life. These are the early signs, which are bad enough.

“It’s strange that can’t actually hear silence. I haven’t heard silence for God knows how long.”

What is tinnitus?

It isn’t an illness or disease but can affect all ages. Sufferers have the sensation of hearing a noise which is not created externally but is generated by the brain. This may be a ringing or buzzing.

What causes it?

There is no exact cause, as Dr Ewart Davies of the British Tinnitus Association says: “The most common cause of tinnitus is deafness, which can be brought about by old age or any kind of damage, caused by sound, industry or even antibiotics. But in about a third of cases, the patient has ‘perfect’ hearing.”

Emotional and physical factors like stress, bad news, head injuries, illnesses such as colds and flu, and injuries to the head and neck have also been linked to the onset of tinnitus. In many cases it can be attributed to inner ear damage. Tiny hairs in the inner ear detect sound and connect to nerves in the brain. There, they are interpreted as sound. If those hairs are damaged in any way, they can send random electrical impulses to the brain, which cause tinnitus.