Hearing Loss in the Music Industry: Music Took My Hearing

[@NK-nk3xe]

ITS ABOUT TIME SOMEONE TALKS ABOUT THIS. THANK YOU. So many people treat this as a taboo subject. I get it. But you out there who don't talk about it, you are doing a HUGE disservice to other musicians out there there don't realize the dangers. I was one of them. Thank god my tinnitus went away, but it took 5 years and a lot of work. No one warned me. Not that it wasn't my fault, but having this conversation is VERY important for younger generations.

[@jimmymakemusic]

I agree 100% with everything you said. I wish it was talked about more. Maybe it is and I’m just missing it, but I definitely got the message too late. Now I’m paying the price for being an idiot who listened to music too damn loud for too damn long. How’d you get your tinnitus under control? I’d love to hear any tips!

[@mikaelgonzalez2739]

Hey man, i appreciate your work. As a DJ, one ear hearing loss was a bummer... (One sided monitor way too loud). It completely shut me down from playing again. However, I try to still live my passion for nocturnal arts through VJing: so it's most of the time work at home with light background music, and maybe a few times a year a live performance. Ive always been keen on hearing protection, but that only night where i didnt have my plugs just f*cked it all up. Fortunately, I mostly lost in the very low range, so I can hear voices pretty clear, but i cannot enjoy electronic music at its fullest anymore... Im telling myself that this is a lesson, to keep away from using up my hearing slowly but surely by attenting live electronic music events. It can happen to anyone, even you and me (23yo). Keep it up

[@RobertHollander]

I'm a 71-year-old guitarist who used to play in rock bands in high school, college, and a very short stint on an exhausting tour right out of college. My last two years, I spent most of my time playing a Les Paul through a Marshall 100-watt head (pre-master volume version) and double-stack of Marshall cabinets. Why didn't I use ear protection? Young and stupid, I suppose. Needless to say, I have significant hearing loss, most noticeably in the frequency range occupied by the voices of children and women. I was my father's full-time caregiver the last five years of his life (he passed away at age 93). He was almost completely deaf and relied on old-school hearing aids with minimal success. Whenever I spoke to my father, no matter what I said or how I said it, I always knew what the first word he was going to say to me would be and that was, "What?" It was such a habit with him, there were times I caught him saying it before I even got out the first two words. One of the things I promised myself (and I've kept to it) is never to ask that question of anyone. I refuse to ask, "What?" Although it's not as efficient, I used to use other words such as, "I apologize. Would you repeat that for me please?" If communication was consistently difficult, I would explain that I was suffering from hearing loss. About a year ago, I went back to work full time as a substitute teacher so the hearing issue became more of a problem. I finally gave into the advice of my audiologist and purchased hearing aids. But they are nothing like what my father had. I had no idea the technology has improved so much in the last 15 to 20 years in the field of hearing aids. Although I opted for a moderately-expensive pair (approximately $4000), I discovered that there are numerous plans available for things like this that provide financing at no interest with payments spread over 12 to 36 months. My hearing aids are small. In fact, nobody would know I'm even wearing hearing aids unless I went out of my way to show them. The receivers rest behind my ears connected by a tiny wire that leads into my ears. They are connected to my cell phone by way of an app in which I can change the sound profiles available to me depending on the environment and surrounding noise. I used to dread phone calls terribly. Not anymore. Using my cell phone is always a hands-free experience. That is a great thing, especially for those of us who have ADHD like me and constantly carry-on phone conversations while doing other things at the same time. Also, now I am able to listen to music or "secretly" watch KZbin and listen without anybody knowing the better. So instead of having a handicap, I feel as though I have a superpower. And, I no longer have to apologize to people, asking them to repeat what they had just said. Don't hesitate to visit your audiologist and invest in a good pair of hearing aids. It has really changed life for the better for me.

[@jimmymakemusic]

@@RobertHollander thanks so much for all the great information. You hit on so many great points. Best of luck to you.

[@RobertHollander]

@@jimmymakemusic Thank you.

[@CJasonThwaites]

I consider myself blessed on this front, but it didn't start out that way. I've been playing loud rock guitar for nearly 40 years with very little hearing loss. The caveat is that as a baby my parents took me to an audiologist because I wasn't responding to sound stimulus normally. It turns out I make much more ear wax than everybody else. Through childhood this required frequent visits to the doctor to removes huge chunks of wax from my ears. It used to bum me out massively. Now at 56 years old, about once a year my ears plug up and I have to use warm water and a bulb (it's a pain in the butt) to remove pinky finger tip size chunks of wax from my ears. All that said I have no doubt that because my ears are essentially always a little bit plugged I have avoided substantial hearing loss. My reason for sharing is to encourage everyone to find some kind of attenuating option they are comfortable with and USE IT, every gig, every time. Nearly every close musician friend I have has hearing loss... It's thing people, don't ignore it.

[@DaaxBeats]

This video reminds me of when I discovered how bad my eyesight was. I didn't realize it until I visited the eye doctor and they handed me glasses i could see with. i was shocked how well i could see again

[@jimmymakemusic]

Exactly!

[@RavienUK]

Thank you for this Jimmy! It's nice to know I'm not alone suffering hearing loss whilst trying to make music. I was prescribed 2 hearing aids last year (limited HF in left ear: < 4Khz !!) but my right ear hears totally distorted sound with constantly loud tinnitus (had this for 4 years / 24 hours a day, a total nightmare!) so I can't use a hearing aid. Oh & balance issues / it's like I'm walking on stilts. Apparently this is called SSNHL.. I only found out recently as my audiologist only said to me: "well it shouldn't be distorted!". The irony is, is that I lost my hearing 4 years ago whilst (trying) to sing harmonies on a Beach Boys cover song (totally true!). I now add text notes on future YT videos, advising people to adjust their eq / sound settings accordingly (& not to complain if it sounds horrendous lol). Thanks again. All the best with your music, Rae

[@jimmymakemusic]

@@RavienUK I love the info you provided. I have the distortion thing happened too. It sounds like an 8-bit sound effect…making the hearing aid useless. I wish you well and keep rockin’

[@dolinick]

the cranberries concert in austin texas was the loudest or the most deafaning for me. we went to get tacos after and my hearing was crazy. the next day i think i was ok. other concerts made my ears ring a little bit after the concert.

[@romiden106]

Sir, I am 21-year-old . I have recently noticed that I can't hear sounds above 14.3 kilohertz. Two years ago, my hearing range was up to 19 kilohertz, and I could hear everything clearly. I'm concerned that this might be due to earwax buildup. Doctors typically focus on speech frequencies during hearing tests, but I need to be able to hear the full sound spectrum for music. What should I do

[@jimmymakemusic]

@@romiden106 you should try to get in with an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor or your primary doctor to start off. If you can’t get to a doctor you can try getting an ear camera to see what’s going on. A company named Bebird makes decent cheap ones around $20-35. If it’s wax buildup then you can get an earwax removal kit and take care of it. If it’s not earwax then you’ll definitely need to see a doctor and hopefully land with an audiologist for a proper hearing test and go from there. I saw my primary doctor, then an ENT, then an audiologist before they recommended a hearing aid.

[@rcha2024]

why is the hearing loss only on the left ear

[@jimmymakemusic]

@@rcha2024 I was a club DJ and usually had one ear covered with a headphone to cue up music while the other was exposed to the loudness of the club.

[@rcha2024]

@jimmymakemusic . . . . . . in my case, I think it was driving the car with the left window down in the summers, I recently noticed how loud traffic on the highway is, and how loud the wind noise is. Also, I have this theory, that for those of us who are right-handed, under-utilization of our left side of our bodies reduces blood flow and causes atrophy in muscles and the nervous system in general, that could explain why left hearing becomes weaker.

[@jimmymakemusic]

@@rcha2024 super interesting. You might be on to something.

[@GGprods-o2x]

no..... you lost your hearing because you didn't educate yourself properly before getting into the industry.... you did not loose your hearing to music. You lost it you your ignorance.

[@jimmymakemusic]

You must be a blast at parties

[@GGprods-o2x]

@@jimmymakemusic qq