I’m sure you’ve caught it flipping by some repeat of “The Osbournes”. Aging Ozzy Osbourne wandering around his palatial California estate, screaming “What?!?”
If Muhamed Ali is an example of what a life-time of taking punches to the head can do to a person, Ozzy is the perfect example of what a life-time of rock music can do to one’s hearing.
Hearing health is one of those things that every musician has been warned about, but too few actually take notice until it’s far too late.
60% of inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are hearing impaired. Phil Collins stopped touring due to hearing issues, and Brian Wilson has almost no hearing in his right ear.
And it’s not just musicians, baby boomers, the generation that grew up on rock music, have more instances of hearing loss than those over 65.
Sudden loud noises, like blaring feedback, can cause sudden hearing loss. But the cumulative effect of repeated exposure to loud noises can also cause damage. Not just difficulty hearing, but also tinnitus – ear-ringing often times coupled with hearing loss.
In the ‘80s Kathy Peck played bass and sang with the San Francisco band The Contractions until a set in ’84 at the Oakland Coliseum where she suffered hearing damage. The problem progressed to the point that her severe loss in hearing meant she needed to use two hearing-aids and learn lip-reading and sign language.
Along with Flash Gordon MD, Peck started the non-profit H.E.A.R. (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers) dedicated to preventing hearing loss and tinnitus amongst musicians and music fans.
With just some awareness and reasonable care you can enjoy playing and listening to music and maintain your hearing health.
When you’re playing music, something as simple as wearing a pair of earplugs can go a long way. And even modern earplugs that reduce sound evenly and maintain clarity and fidelity are available at a low cost.
Do any of you guys use any hearing protection when you’re playing? Would you recommend it to other musicians? Let us know in the comments.
I thought this was important enough to comment on. Back about ’69 we were playing in Clarksburg W.Va. The stage was set up wide but one of the guitar players cabinets was up around ear level. For the next three days it was as if I had a pillow over my right ear. Pretty scary. From that point on I rarely played or practiced with out something in my ears. Hearing plugs were not just everywhere so anything, usually small wads of toilet paper had to be used. It took some getting used too, but today I still have good hearing and many of my band mates ,not so much.
Use protection of somekind
M. Liddy
I have tinitus from many concerts and clubs and studio headphones.
I have constant tinnitus coming from years of band practice and shows. I wear ear plugs now when I know music or noise will be loud, but the damage has been done and there is no return. The first thing I tell young musicians is to protect their ears. They may not look cool, but being smart is far more important than being cool.
From a lifetime of playing, and NOT wearing hearing protection, I have developed persistent tennitus, and a total hearing loss in the 20-30K range. Wear your hearing pro people! I wear TRU Custom earplugs manufactured by Westone Audio. http://www.westoneaudio.com/ They cut 15db or 25db (depending on which insert I use) while maintaining much of the overtone series.
“tinnitus” is nasty! It leads to difficulty sleeping which will eventually impact your mental, cardiac and physical health. Don’t accept it, prevent it! Do this by purchasing low cost industrial grade hearing protection at your drug store, hardware store or your local shooting sport store. Surprisingly, very few music shops sell them. Some filter out up to 33 dbs. Yes sound quality suffers but we bass players “feel” the vibe, right? Anyway, I have had it for 30 years and now require sleep meds every night to achieve and sustain sleep. I use diposable “pre-shaped foam earplugs” at practice and on stage that work well. You can use them many times before discarding. I use Howard Leight “MAX” (nrr 33db. orange) and “MAX LITE” (nrr30db. green). Take a Stand, wear them proud!! Save your health and promote safe groovin’.
Hi, (hand up) my name is Spikey and I have a hearing problem…..jokes aside. I grew up playing with two brothers as drummers and consequently from an early age I learned about hearing loss very early on. I have been using earplugs since I could jam. I started using blu tak, then those horrible disposable foam squishy plugs and then I got some HEAROS (also Etymotics); solution found. I am so aware of my hearing that I’ll bring them to every live band gig that I play at and attend, big or small. I can’t leave home without them. Most drummers complain about the tonal reduction when using plugs. You just need to spend the money and get professional molded plugs. As you get older, you still want to play after you retire from your ‘day job’ and still be able to hear your drums. Anyway, I’m a guitarist/bass player, enough talk of drummers….
I personally began my career as a musician about 11 years ago. I would wear ear plugs for all of about 20 minutes before getting annoyed with them and would revert back to wearing nothing. I was a regular gig-attendee and performer and would always go home with ringing in my ears, but after a night or 2 it would be gone. Then one night after a loud practice, it never went away. This caused me a huge amount of stress for about 3 months, but then I learnt that the ringing, called tinnitus, is an effect of hearing loss. My continued research led me to discover just how damaging loud noise can be to your hearing system (something that was not mentioned even once in my entire university music degree), and also led me to realise just how much I enjoyed learning about he hearing system. I enrolled in a Masters of Audiology course and for the last 4 years have been practicing as an audiologist and am treasurer for Music To My Ears Campaign, a not-for-profit organisation aimed at raising awareness of the effects of noise on our hearing systems, particularly targeting young people. Day in, day out, I see the effects of noise exposure on people’s’ hearing systems, the resulting hearing loss (often accompanied by tinnitus) and the impact it takes on their quality of life. I dedicate my days to trying to help reduce the negative impact this has on their lives, but I think it is important for everyone to realise that noise induced hearing loss is permanent, and prevention is always better than a hindsight treatment (because there is no cure for noise induced hearing loss). So please, protect your ears! You’ve only got 2 of them.
If you haven’t heard about them yet, you got to try Earasers Hi-Fi earplugs. Not only are they comfortable, but they don’t plug you up like those other earplugs. Bass comes through without getting muddy, but the cymbal crashes are reduced to a more acceptable level. Maintains your ability to hear all the nuances of the music. Best thing short of expensive in-ear monitors.
I played bass and organ in loud psychedelic bands in the mid and late 60’s and I now have constant tinnitus and wear two hearing aids. I don’t regret being part of the fantastic music scene back in the day but deeply regret my hearing impairment. To make things worse, a few months ago I suffered an eye stroke which left me permanently blind in one eye. So, I urge you young musicians to always use hearing protectors when playing or listening to loud music…
Hells bells, I’ve even used cig butts in a pinch!Don’t neglect your hearing! I’ts realy easy to take care of it! Be smart!!!