Windesheim student Lars Beerda has more than 25 million streams worldwide on Spotify as DJ Laurentius. With his new song ‘Can You Hear Me’ he wants to warn other young people about hearing damage. He himself unexpectedly developed tinnitus.
In addition to his studies, the final year student of International Business is known as DJ Laurentius. The songs of the DJ & music producer from Zwolle went viral and he never thought about getting hearing damage. But the tinnitus gradually snuck in with Lars (26).
“I was just very stupid and never wore hearing protection during my bookings, and also when going out. It started five years ago with a ringing sound that came and went. Because of my work I am regularly in environments where the sound is very loud, which made it progressively worse. Because it happened gradually I did not feel the urgency to do anything about it: now I have a beeping sound that will never go away.”
Earplugs
“People often don’t realize how quickly something like this can happen and think ‘it won’t happen to me’. Fortunately, I see that fellow students increasingly bring earplugs, but there is still too little knowledge about tinnitus. With the song ‘Can You Hear Me’, Lars wants to draw attention to hearing damage, but also show people with hearing damage that you shouldn’t limit yourself. “You can live with it, and you can still make music. That’s what the song is about for me: the journey towards acceptance, and finding the positive in it. You can’t see it on the outside. There were friends who approached me after the song and said: ‘Gosh, do you have that’.”
Tinnitus has many forms, and everyone experiences it slightly differently. “Fortunately, I have a variant that is reasonably livable. I always say: I am never alone. Alcohol makes it worse, so I hardly drink anymore. I see that as a beautiful healthy revelation.
I am naturally cheerful and positive, and that helps me with this. Acceptance is probably the biggest point. With stress I only get in my own way.”
Research
The Windesheim student may have hearing damage, but his work is no less. “I have discovered at which key my tinnitus becomes worse. At that moment I hear a sharp beep, and I have pain for a millisecond, but I do not avoid the key. The sounds around it do not limit me that much, which means I still make music in the same way as before my hearing damage. However, I now produce at a lower volume. My neighbors in Zwolle are also happier.”
Lars sees it as a bonus to get something beautiful out of his hearing damage. “This is now part of my life. This song, and the goal behind it – namely that the proceeds of all streams go to the Oorfonds (Ear Fund) – gives me a good feeling. The money is used for research into hearing damage, and who knows: maybe we can get to the point where tinnitus is no longer an issue.”
Gold
DJ KULI from Zwolle, with whom Lars collaborates, was born hearing impaired and deaf, but received an implant that allows him to hear something. “I was his ears in this project, and not only produced the music, but also wrote the lyrics. In half an hour. When you have gold in your hands, and everything fits together perfectly, things can go quickly. Perhaps this is subconsciously because I was able to put my own story on paper in this way.”
Lars sees ‘Can You Hear Me’ as an anthem for the hearing impaired. “It represents this target group, but I wrote it in such a way that it will hopefully also reach people who are not part of the target group. The journey towards a positive life is of course for everyone: whether you are recovering from depression or are looking for a love song. It was very important to us that everyone can hear their own story in it.”
Own recording studio
The song was released for World Hearing Day, an initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, the DJs also give workshops and seminars on the subject. “To be able to convey the message to as many people as possible that you can make music, even with a hearing impairment. And to my fellow students I would say: bring earplugs. It will only cost you ten euros, or two or three beers. It is your life.”
The rest of the career of the Windesheim student is also going well: “I’m making a living from it now. Last year I did 100 bookings and made 50 tracks. Not just for myself: I also write and produce for other artists now and get bought off a lot.” He also recently got his own recording studio in Zwolle. It’s going to be a productive summer. “But I still want to graduate: I promised my grandma that.”
text: Michelle van der Molen
photo: Jasper van Overbeek
