I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve caught it flipping by some repeat of “The Osbournes”. \u00a0Aging Ozzy Osbourne\u00a0wandering around his palatial California estate, screaming \u201cWhat?!?\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s hearing.<\/p>\n
Hearing health is one of those things that every musician has been warned about, but too few actually take notice until it\u2019s far too late.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not just musicians, baby boomers, the generation that grew up on rock music, have more instances of hearing loss than those over 65.<\/p>\n
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 \u2013\u00a0 ear-ringing often times coupled with hearing loss.<\/p>\n
In the \u201880s Kathy Peck played bass and sang with the San Francisco band The Contractions until a set in \u201984 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.<\/p>\n