Dynamic Drop Down list locked by Edit Objects in protected sheet

Hi All,

I have a dynamic drop down list which is not allowing me to change the contents when the sheet is protected. The cells are not locked on the sheet. If I check 'Edit Objects' on the sheet protection the cells are editable, when I uncheck 'Edit Objects' I am unable to get a cursor in the cell. The cells are set as a Data Validation type with source =Drop_Down_List.

I have included two screen shots. Picture 1 is with 'Edit Objects' enabled. I have typed cair in the cell and my dynamic drop down list is displayed. Picture 2 is with 'Edit Objects' deselected, when i click on the cell the cursor changes to a hand and I see the entire list (over 7000 lines) but I am unable to type in the cell to activate the dynamic drop down list.

Why is a dynamic drop down list being treated as an 'Object'?