ACS Custom release ‘Tinnitus Toolkit’ video

Tinnitus UK, the UK’s leading tinnitus charity, has partnered with ACS Custom to launch the Tinnitus Toolkit to raise awareness on tinnitus in the music industry

Produced by ACS Custom, The Tinnitus Toolkit is a powerful and thought-provoking 20-minute documentary that shines a light on the realities of tinnitus within the music industry, from the dance floor to the DJ booth.

Tinnitus can develop into a chronic, life-changing condition that affects not only hearing but also sleep, focus, and mental health. The Tinnitus Toolkit offers support and guidance to those living with the condition and calls for greater awareness and prevention within the music industry.

Both Andy Shiach, founder of ACS, and Jono Heale, Director, share a personal connection to ACS Custom’s mission. As former musicians living with tinnitus, their experiences have driven a lifelong commitment to hearing protection and raising awareness within the music industry.

For Andy, tinnitus was the catalyst that led him to establish ACS, a company dedicated to developing high-quality hearing protection solutions. For Jono, it inspired the creation of education programmes for music students before joining ACS. ACS is a personal mission for both, to protect the next generation of musicians and support peers who often live in fear of tinnitus.

The Toolkit brings together real voices from across the music industry to take meaningful action, rather than simply talk about it. It is designed to meet musicians on their own terms, speaking their language, and providing accessible pathways to support and protection.

The Tinnitus Toolkit hub also connects users to wider Tinnitus UK services, including the Tinnitus UK musician’s hub, musician support groups, and an option to purchase ACS earplugs. The hub also gives users the option for further services through the musicians hub.

Danny Knight, Partnerships Manager at Tinnitus UK, said: “We collaborate with companies who truly have the tinnitus community’s interests at heart, like ACS Custom who have a deep personal connection to the condition. The Tinnitus Toolkit is an authentic and reliable source of guidance for musicians with tinnitus.

Tinnitus is a fact of life for 8 million people in the UK, and musicians are at significantly higher risk because of their passion for sound. Reducing that risk is easy: wear protection, take hearing breaks, turn down the volume during rehearsals. If you do have tinnitus, don’t give up! Protect your ears, get checked out, give Tinnitus UK a call and don’t stop loving music!”

Jono Heale, Director at ACS Custom said: “Anyone exposed to loud music will have probably experienced Tinnitus, the whistling or ringing ghost in your head. Hopefully

temporarily but for some this can become a chronic condition and something that can be devastating, life changing and must be coped with every single day….. and night. Loud music damages your hearing! – no sh*t! We know this right? Get over it! There’s loads of research and statistics to prove this together with many campaigns to raise more awareness. But what about supporting the people that live with Tinnitus or want to effectively protect themselves from an outcome of being exposed to the loud music that they love, enjoy regularly for extended periods of time.

As a music induced Tinnitus sufferer myself for nearly 18 years, I was getting frustrated by the sector not actively helping DJs and Musicians with this condition in a practical way, together with signposting to relative guidance and support. So, I decided to host a panel at the Brighton Music Conference and make a video, which maybe one of many to be honest.

The Tinnitus Toolkit explores the realities of Tinnitus in the music industry. Anyone exposed to loud music knows that high-pitched whistle or ringing after a long night — the noise in your head once the music stops. For most, it fades. For some, it doesn’t. Tinnitus can become a chronic, life-altering condition that impacts your hearing, sleep, focus, and even mental health.

A lot has changed very recently actually, especially with the amazing charity Tinnitus UK stepping up and developing resources especially designed to help those in the music industry with Tinnitus.

Hopefully the Tinnitus Toolkit video will guide you to find your own toolkit to help manage this condition.”