I am stand up comedian, D.J. Demers aka 'The Hearing Aid Guy' AMA

You're a talented, successful, award winning Canadian comedian -

So when do you think you'll move to the US?

haha Your tone is so disenchanted, I can't help but wonder if you're a fellow Canadian entertainer.

IS IT WEIRD WHEN PEOPLE TRY TO SPEAK LOUDLY TO YOU OVER THE INTERNET?

NO WAY! IT'S A REALLY CLEVER JOKE, AND IT NEVER, EVER GETS OLD!

Do you wear hearing aids?

All day e'eryday

All day implies you don't take them out. You said on your set that you take them out at night. Are you being dishonest with me, Mr. Demers?

Never!

Who are your favorite comedians? Great bit on Conan by the way!

Norm MacDonald, Seinfeld, Jon Dore, Chappelle, Chelsea Peretti. Love 'em all, but Norm is the king. And thanks a lot!

Are you actually gay? Asking for a friend.

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3s7d3z

Good morning from Windsor Ontario! I was wondering how you're going to spend your first $20,000,000.00? Love your stuff by the way!

Thank you! If I actually got $20,000,000, I'd probably actually buy a yacht. That would be incredible. And I would definitely name it 'Helen Keller'.

As Bill Burr said, you don't want to be the guy who owns the boat. You just want to be the friend that brings the 12-pack. That's smart money management.

Loved you on Conan!

When are you coming to perform in Montreal?

Exactly. I'll probably be there in March or April. I'll post on my Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/djdemerscomedy) and twitter (djdemers).

Enjoy the smells! (And thanks for not doing a Windsor joke!)

What's so funny about Windsor? ;)

PS I'll be performing there next month. Come on out!

http://www.comedyquarry.com/show/dj/

Hey! I loved your stand up! Laughed the entire time. How would you deal with a heckler? That is if you ever had to.

Thanks! I have had to deal with hecklers, and it's usually pretty easy. The rest of the crowd doesn't like a heckler either, so I just team up with them. You can ask if they're enjoying his/her heckles, or if we'd all rather he/she shut the hell up. Or, obviously, I can just say something easy like, "I've never been more thankful for my hearing impairment. (Now please shut up.)"

When you were growing up, did you ever get picked on because you wear hearing aids? If so, how did you handle it? My five year old daughter wears hearing aids and this is my big fear for her as she gets older.

I didn't, actually. Looking back, I wonder why not. The bullies were not on their 'A' game at my school, I guess. I think your daughter will be fine. Especially if she's started wearing them so young. She'll adapt nicely. Best of luck :)

What is your ideal breakfast?

Now we're getting into the important stuff! I'm eating breakfast right now actually. Cheerios with some bananas slices. Just living the dream over here.

I've gotta get out of here, guys! Thanks so much for all your questions. I had a lot of fun.

Thanks to DRBUCKET2 for posting the Conan video a couple days ago. I don't know you, but you helped me out!

Follow me on twitter or Facebook

If any of that formatting is wrong, I apologize. I will get better at Reddit, I promise. Thanks again everyone!

How long do you think you can use the deaf schtick before you'll have to come up with new material? I dont mean this to be offensive, just an honest question.

I'll do the deaf schtick forever. I didn't buy these fake hearing aids for nothing!

No, I have a lot of other material, but it was fun to talk about them as a sort of introduction to who I am. Hopefully, I'm back on another late show soon enough and you can see my other stuff.

Hi there--very funny stuff on Conan, his was my favorite late show growing up. Did you share any laughs with him backstage? What was he like?

He's really busy while the show is filming, so I only hung out with him on the couch after my set. But for those few minutes, he was very nice and supportive of my comedy. Definitely a highlight of my career/life.

Hey DJ, I used to live in Toronto and caught a few of your shows and played ball with you a few times, and am friends with Foisy. Glad to see you're doing so well! I was wondering what lead to you booking the gig on Conan?

Hey Josh! They saw me perform at Just For Laughs in Montreal last year, and booked me from that. Good to hear from you man.

Love your work!! Sorry if this is a bit forward, but I've always been curious about the distinctive lisp of deaf people. You're obviously aware you have one, how does it come to be? Are you able to speak without it if you try (like how people can imitate others' accents)?

I am trying to speak without it haha. This is my best impersonation of someone without a hearing impairment.

That was a solid set on Conan... How long have you been working on that? Is standup something you always wanted to do our something you just kind of fell into?

I've always wanted to do stand-up. Since I was a wee lad. So happy I get to do it now.

I'm standing here with two long needles and i have already ordered the hearing aids, but before i commit to stealing your routine: Did you already make 20 million dollars?

Thanks! And put the needles away. There's only room for one hearing aid guy in this town.

When did you realize that you had the balls to get up on that stage and what was the first time like? You are awesome brother - loved your Conan bit!

The first amateur night I ever got up on stage, I loved the high so much, I knew I had to do it. Thanks a lot!

Does wearing the hearing aid effect your performance or routine for getting ready? Have u had them you entire life or has your hearing problem set in later in life

I don't think my hearing aids affect my routine for getting ready or my performance. I can't hear the audience perfectly when I banter with them, but I like to have fun with that, so it's not really a detriment. I've been wearing them since I was 4 years old, so I really don't know life without them. Thanks for the question!

Hacking had hearing aids for that long, what is your take on the technological development?

I have bluetooth now. I talk on the phone through my hearing aids. I'm a full blown cyborg. It's incredible.

Would I be wrong if I guessed you have a Compilot necklace thingy?

You'd be absolutely right.

Hi, you're a pretty attractive guy IMO. I just wanted to get that out of the way. I do have a question though, has your hearing impairment ever gotten in the way of any relationship you've been in? Or has anyone ever rejected you because of your hearing?

Never to my face, but I'm sure people have not wanted to date a guy with hearing aids. But that's ok. :)

Besides smelling the ocean, what would you do with all that Helen Keller money?

I'd dive into a pool of coins, Duck Tales style. It would be so painful, but worth it for sure.

How were you discovered for the Conan bit? Were you approached or did you have to audition?

I performed at Just For Laughs in Montreal last July. I was discovered from that.

Have you ever caught somebody yelling something at you when they thought that your hearing aids were out?

All the time. Then I tell them they don't have to yell, and they start speaking too quietly.

Watch your video a couple days a go. Thanks for the laugh. You brightened up my afternoon.

Obligatory Question: Do you like giraffes?

Of course. What am I, a monster?

What has been the hardest part of your journey as a comedian, other than the not hearing thing?

Becoming myself on stage. Lots of stage time required.

Do you sign? Edit: As a person also has hearing problems, I've recently starting signing.

Nope. I'm not good at hearing, and I'm not good at being deaf. I don't belong anywhere. I'm like a daywalker.

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Thanks! I'm working on these things every night. It's kind of my natural style as well, but always trying to tighten it up onstage.

If you could replace your hearing impairment with another one, which one would you choose? (Aside from Hellen Keller of course)

So many amazing disabilities to choose from, how can I pick just one?

Great set, sir. Any feelings better than killing on stage?

You set me up for a solid orgasm joke, but I can't take it. There is no better feeling than killing onstage.

Great standup! What was it like meeting Conan and being backstage before the show? Thanks!

Conan was super nice. He's a big icon for me, so it was a dream to meet him. Plus, they had shiatsu massage chairs backstage, so I was feeling niiicccee and relaxed.

Have you been a lot busier since your performance on Conan?

Yes. Things are starting to pick up, which is nice. Just gotta keep getting better, and keep making dat chedda to pay my 7-person entourage.

How is your partner?

Still trying to solve the mystery :p! Looking forward to seeing your work in the future! You should do a college tour, specifically in Florida! Specifically in University of Central Florida! Anyway big fan!

Thanks! Hopefully I can make it down there.

What's your Twitter?

djdemers

Loved your stand up!

Also, do you have to pop your ears on airplanes?

Oh yeah! They get so clogged up. But when I get that heavenly pop, it's an incredible feeling.

Do you read comic books, if "yes" which ones?

I don't! Sorry. I read X-Men as a kid. That's about it.

How was axe throwing and how did you hear about it? I throw every Monday and used to with Wilson, it's a whole ton of fun ;)

Not sure how I heard about it, but it was so much fun. I'd love to do it again!

Do you have any random talents?

I can spell like nobody's business. Not sure how random that is.

Widex or Phonak?

Phonak baby!

Have you actually caught anyone in the audience saying something with your lipreading? I know you dont like to talk about your aids but im sure you said you lipread.

Never caught anyone. It's usually pretty hard to see from the stage with the lights, even with my incredible, compensating eyes.

Hey I loved your stand up on Conan!

Was it hard to get a start in comedy? And how do you come up with new material?

Thank you! It's never really felt like work, because I love it so much. But it's definitely been a grind trying to simultaneously get better and work my way up the ranks. For new material, I just keep my mind open to the absurdities of life as I go about my day-to-day. Always have my trusty notebook handy.

Why do you want to do AMA?

I'm an egomaniac! Love me!

Hey D.J.! Thanks for being hilarious. Would you ever consider doing an episode of You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes?

If that amazing offer ever came through, of course! I love Pete Holmes. Saw him perform in Montreal a couple summers ago. He's amazing.

Thoughts on cochlear implants? Also, nice set on Conan. That was really well done

Not sure if I'm eligible for them myself, but I know people who wear them, and it's very exciting how far they've come. And thank you!

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Don't be embarrassed. So many people have hearing problems. Plus, modern headphones are starting to look like hearing aids. The hearing people wanna be us, man!

Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck?

Come on. That's easy. 100 duck-sized horses. A horse-sized duck would be a terror unlike the world has ever seen.

Haha! Just watched your set on Conan, it was hilarious!

Thanks!

That's good they don't affect your routine or getting ready. That probably is frustrating not perfectly hearing them during banter. But that is interesting. Im sure they are a part of you now but no problem thanks for answering. Do u have any big upcoming gigs?

Lots of big Canadian shows coming up. Working on weaseling my way into the U.S. very soon.

Yo dawg, I'm not gonna ride your dick about how you're so brave or whatever for being a deaf comic.

What's important is that you are adorable. But you already knew that.

So your set on conan was good, it wasn't predictible for the most part, it actually served to illuminate life as a deaf person, but those dad-jokes made me face-palm hard-core more often than not, but you still got my respect as a comic, because the well-crafted and clever jokes were delivered pretty well, they outweighed the cheesy jokes at the beginning, imo.

In any case, when you first started out, did you feel like audiences treated you like any other open mic comic, that is, did you ever feel like people were laughing at your jokes because you were deaf and not because your jokes were funny?

I mean, in my mostly objective opinion, I think you can do better than to start out by reassuring everybody that it's okay to laugh at a deaf guy with a joke about the street-legality of hearing aids, and I think you should prey on peoples' insecurities, throw them in the deep end immediately, and take advantage of how uncomfortable the audience feels about whether or not it's okay to laugh at a deaf guy. But then again, I'm just a kid with a keyboard on the reddit. :)

These are all valid points. I've often thought of dropping the 'dad jokes'. But people enjoy them. And I've come to enjoy them too. Sometimes jokes can just be silly and simple. And, like you said, the jokes near the end hopefully have some redemptive value if you found the earlier ones too cheesy. I like finding that balance between weird and straight-ahead.

To your last point, I don't think my hearing aids are a big deal. I've never thought of them that way, so I have no interest in taking people down that road of 'is this ok to laugh at?' I want them to know it's ok to laugh right away, because it truly is no big deal.

Thanks for the comment! These are things I think about all the time in relation to my hearing aid material.

Who would you say inspired you to take up comedy? And if you were to inspire anyone for standup, what genre of comedy would you hope they were to pursue in your likeness?

I just loved watching stand-up as a kid. And I love making people laugh, so it was a natural progression I guess. Not even sure what else I would do if I wasn't doing standup. Not sure it's a good idea to define yourself according to genre. I think I would advise anybody to just hit as many stages as they can and see what natural voice emerges.

Hi loved your stand up on conan! My question is who/what is your inspiration? Thanks!

I already said this in another answer, but I've always looked up to Norm MacDonald. And Jon Dore is amazing too. He's had a couple appearances on Conan that I've lost my mind over. I love straight ahead observational comedy (Regan, Seinfeld), but I also love when people mess around with the format (Dore, Chelsea Peretti).

A lot of comedians in the Toronto comedy scene (where I'm from) that are incredible too. I'm always learning from them. Mark Little, Chris Locke, Pat Thornton, to name a few.

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http://www.quickmeme.com/img/eb/eb377d2e15cdf090574a60601613d2996cdea1116cc3886a020421314444f3a8.jpg

how canadian are you?

Oh buddddaayy, I'm just about as Canadian as they come eh

Are you born with this disability ?

Not 100% sure, but probably. My grandpa was hearing impaired, my mom is deaf in one ear, so I come from a long line of crappy ears.