DJ Tre Lowe’s Crusade for Tinnitus & Hearing Awareness for DJ’s, Broadcasters & Entertainers
The AIM is:
- To have no one ask the question- What is Tinnitus?
- To empower people to take action to protect their hearing.
- To ensure that no one needlessly suffers from what is an easily preventable condition.
The first campaign is to get DJ’s, broadcasters and Musicians to get their hearing tested.
The second is to release music, which will go towards spreading awareness and raising funds for research and support.
Tre Lowe has had tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, since his early teens. The condition started following a life-threatening reaction to a routine drug given after an appendix operation.
The tinnitus was exacerbated over the years, ignorantly, via Tre’s love of music. “I never fully connected loud music to the fact that the tinnitus noise was slowly getting worse – I just assumed it was due to the drug overdose I was given at hospital.”
In 2008, after a DJ set at a ridiculously loud club with an ill-informed placement of speakers behind the DJ booth, Tre’s tinnitus worsened considerably. “I went deaf for 24 hours. Luckily my hearing returned, although my tinnitus was super loud. I was distraught. At that point I knew I had to protect my hearing. “That was it for me, I got myself some Elacin custom-made earplugs with 25Db filters. I loved music too much to risk losing it”
Although Tre’s tinnitus has worsened a little, the earplugs have spared his hearing from further deterioration.
“The whole thing has been a blessing in disguise because it allowed me to look at all areas of my health and lifestyle and finally find answers to issues that had been tormenting me for years. Don’t get me wrong though, I would do anything to stop this noise in my head! Another good thing is that it has galvanised me into ensuring my fellow music lovers do not suffer through ignorance. There’s no point me suffering with it if I can’t use that suffering to prevent others from doing the same”.
Having completed the London to Brighton bike ride in aid of Action On Hearing Loss, Tre has also done additional work for the charity. The charity ran a successful campaign with Plan B & Chris Martin from Coldplay talking about their experience with tinnitus. Unfortunately that participation from well-known musicians is the exception, not the rule.
“The reluctance of musicians, especially prominent ones, to talk about tinnitus and hearing loss, shocks and saddens me. I get it, as I too have wrestled with going public. However, I believe it is our duty to inform others of the dangers, especially the young vulnerable music lovers that, like I was, are totally ignorant that something they love so much can potentially be the cause of unnecessary suffering in the future. That culture of ignorance has got to change…”
DJ Tre Lowe is one half of the highly respected, award-winning band: Architechs. Notable for the eternal dance floor filler; Body Groove (Feat. NaNa). A monster platinum hit. Architechs also enjoyed numerous successful remix smashes with the classic Brandy & Monica’s – The Boy Is Mine UKG remix and other masterpieces for Justin Timberlake, Usher, Whitney Houston and numerous others.
