Fourteen Musicians and Composers Experiencing Hearing Loss or Tinnitus
Music can be relaxing, exciting, emotional, peaceful and often, very loud! Excessive exposure to loud music or high-decibel sounds can lead to tinnitus, hearing loss and other hearing conditions. For musicians, this poses an occupational hazard if they are not careful and do not protect their hearing early on in their careers and before a potential hearing condition develops.This list of musicians will prove that hearing loss or tinnitus doesn't necessarily mean the end of musical creation, although the growing list of musicians going public about their condition does call for more attention toward protecting musicians hearing.
1. BeethovenDespite having almost no hearing by 1814, Beethoven continued to create legendary masterpieces including the Ninth Symphony. Whilst we expect hearing loss in musicians to usually be caused by high levels of noise exposure, Beethoven's hearing loss still remains a mystery to historians today. 2. Eric ClaptonRock and roll star Eric Clapton is often referred to as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. On his way to worldwide fame, Clapton overcame various personal obstacles including tinnitus, most likely caused by years of exposure to loud live music concerts and studio time. Clapton was apparently known for turning the volume up to the maximum whilst in the studio, regardless of complaints from other band members.
3. Chris MartinChris Martin, lead-singer and co-founder of the band, Coldplay has been performing and rising to fame since his first album in 2000. What is probably less known about this star musician is that he has been experiencing tinnitus for around a decade!As quoted to the Daily Mail “Looking after your ears is unfortunately something you don’t think about until there’s a problem. I’ve had tinnitus for about ten years, and since I started protecting my ears it hasn’t got any worse – touch wood. But I wish I’d thought about it earlier. Now [the band] always use moulded filter plugs, or in-ear monitors, to protect our ears.”
4. William Boyce - ComposerWilliam Boyce, an 18th century music composer, wrote eight symphonies and also composed music for many of Shakespeare's plays. His hearing deteriorated gradually and by 1758 his hearing loss was so significant that he had to give up his role as an organist.
5. Sting Sting is a very accomplished musician with solo successes as well as earlier days with 'The Police'. Unfortunately, Sting's years of Grammy-winning music led to noise-induced hearing loss. Sting is now very passionate about the importance of protecting your hearing and works with a variety of hearing organisations to spread the message.
6. Plan BPlan B is a British hip-hop artist as well as an actor, writer and director. Despite Plan B only being in his early 30s, he now experiences "loud and high-pitched" tinnitus which he notes was probably caused by years of exposure to high-decibel music.“There’s no doubt it’s been caused by years of being on stage and subjected to very loud decibels of music. So if you’re listening to music a lot, producing music or performing live, then always wear earplugs. You’re not Superman and your hearing matters!”
7. Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams was composing right up until his death in his 80's, despite experiencing hearing loss caused by his service during the First World War from March 1918. His last symphony was first performed in London in April 1958.
8. Jeff BeckJeff Beck was ranked fifth in the Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Despite his success in so many genres including heavy metal, electronica and progressive rock, Beck, like so many musicians, failed to protect his hearing and suffered with tinnitus.
9. Phil CollinsPhil Collins has accolade after accolade, from Oscars to Grammys and has been performing flawlessy since the 70's. Unfortunately, Phil recently announced that he would no longer be touring due to hearing loss that he has been experiencing for some time.
10. Will.i.amWill.i.am is a massively influential artist as a founding member of The Black Eyes Peas and as a producer. According to will.i.am, he is now experiencing painful ringing in his ears, a sensation often described when referring to tinnitus. Apparently this drives him to create music at all hours of the day, as a way of relieving the stress he experiences due to the tinnitus.
11. Neil YoungNeil Young has certainly left his mark on the music world with over thirty unique albums and contributions to many more. Through all his years of success, Neil Young suffered with tinnitus which is unfortunately quite common among rock stars who frequently expose themselves to very loud music with limited hearing protection. Some people think that his softer, more acoustic music of the 90's may be due to this hearing condition.
12. Ozzy OsbourneIf anyone has seen an episode of The Osbournes, it probably won't come as a surprise to anyone that Ozzy suffered from some form of hearing loss! Ozzy was an absolute legend in heavy metal's early history but years of noise exposure has caused some significant hearing loss in his more recent years.
13. Brian WilsonUnlike the tale of many musicians where years of noise exposure leads to a hearing condition, Brian Wilson had very little hearing in his right ear since his early days. This didn't deter Wilson and he went on to compose, arrange and produce what is considered one of the best albums ever made, Pet Sounds, for The Beach Boys.
14. Paul StanleyPaul Stanley, a founding member of the hard rock band KISS was born with microtia, a condition which results in the underdevelopment of the outer ear or pinna. He grew up surrounded by music and so naturally became a musician, despite only being able to hear sounds in his left ear.Stanley works with House Research
Group to encourage teens to protect their hearing whilst they are still young and also claims to always wears earplugs under his earphones to protect his remaining hearing. This list of musicians experiencing very similar hearing conditions as a result of years of noise exposure highlights the need to protect hearing from an early age.
Luckily, tinnitus won't necessarily put a stopper in a music career but it definitely is a good idea to invest in hearing protection.There are a number of ways to protect your hearing, from ear plugs to a full hearing protection plan, tailored for each individual’s needs and lifestyle.Get in touch with Cubex today if you want to talk more about hearing protection for musicians.