Tinnitus is a medical condition that causes a person to hear ringing, buzzing, or whistling in their ears without any external sound source. In most cases, only the patient perceives this sound, but in others, such as pulsatile tinnitus, a doctor can hear it with a stethoscope. Several factors can cause tinnitus. These include middle ear infection, ototoxic drugs, exposure to loud noise levels, earwax blockage, age, autoimmune inner ear disease, a tumor or head trauma, atherosclerosis, and Meniere's disease. Depending on the cause and extent of damage to the ear, tinnitus can be mild, severe, temporary, or permanent. While it can affect people of all ages, it is particularly prevalent in certain professions. Military personnel and musicians, for example, are much more exposed to it than people whose jobs do not involve loud noises. In this article, we will look at some musicians suffering from tinnitus, but before we start, let's see why tinnitus is so common among musicians. The main contributing factor is constant exposure to high sound pressure levels. Daily, or even more frequently, musicians are exposed to significant sound volumes from their instruments and microphones, both during practice and during rehearsals and concerts. Studies have shown that the sound intensity they are subjected to during each of these activities exceeds normal tolerance limits, endangering their auditory health.
The acceptable sound level for humans is 80 decibels, but musicians are often exposed to levels reaching 120 decibels. This overexposure to noise does not only occur during concerts. It also happens during their daily activities, especially when they listen to music to perfect their singing, whether with headphones, earbuds, or very powerful speakers, at home or in the studio. Musicians believe they are improving, but they are also unknowingly damaging their ears. The part of the ear most affected by noise exposure is the hair cells of the inner ear. Repeated exposure to loud sounds causes them to degrade, and once destroyed, there is no cure. This can cause tinnitus, permanent hearing loss, or deafness. Beyond the fact that tinnitus is painful and disruptive, its effects, for most musicians, spill over into their professional lives. They may no longer be able to work properly and may experience musical difficulties. If not properly managed, tinnitus can worsen and ruin a musician's career. Over the years, many renowned musicians have experienced some form of hearing loss or auditory disorder. For some, it is permanent tinnitus; for others, it is permanent hearing loss or deafness. A recent statistic indicates that about 60% of musicians in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame suffer from hearing disorders; this figure is not surprising when one knows the reason, but it remains alarming. This phenomenon does not only concern rock musicians: it also affects other styles, DJs, and instrumentalists. Here are some famous musicians with tinnitus.
1. Moby
Richard Melville Hall, better known as Moby, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and producer born on September 11, 1965.
He has released numerous albums, including Moby (1992), Ambient (1993), These systems are failing (2016), Animal Rights (1996), and many others. Moby has sold approximately twenty million records worldwide. He has long struggled with tinnitus. According to him, when he started playing in a band, he was not aware of the importance of hearing protection and therefore never wore any. Despite this, he and his band played as loud as they could. This went on for some time. Then, one evening, after returning from a punk rock concert, he noticed his ears ringing. It wasn't the first time: his ears buzzed almost after every concert. But this ringing was different, because unlike the previous ones, it didn't go away overnight. When he woke up the next day, it was still there; in fact, it never left. This episode made him realize how important it was to protect his ears from noise. He then began to wear hearing protection to avoid losing his hearing. In his own words: "I realized that once my hearing was gone, it would never come back." Even though Moby has joined the list of musicians with tinnitus, he has learned to manage it well, without it affecting his career.
2. Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John Martin is an English songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer born on March 2, 1977. He is the co-founder, main songwriter, and lead singer of the rock band Coldplay. The band formed in 1996, but was then called Starfish. It was renamed Coldplay in 1998. In a 2012 interview, Chris Martin revealed that he had developed hearing problems. He admitted that he had not been very concerned about his ears before suffering from them. Since he made his hearing problems public, all members of his team wear in-ear monitors or custom-molded earplugs during concerts. Chris Martin also makes sure to wear hearing protection. This has not cured his condition, but it has prevented it from worsening.
3. Ozzy Osbourne
The famous heavy metal singer John Michael Osbourne, better known as Ozzy Osbourne, is also among the musicians affected by tinnitus. Born on December 3, 1948, he became known in the 1970s as the lead singer of the band Black Sabbath. He has many studio albums to his credit, including Blizzard of Oz, UnderCover, Ordinary Man, Diary of a Madman, and Ozzmosis. Osbourne had an entire stadium crowd scream to set the Guinness World Record for the longest collective scream. In an interview with the Sunday Times of London, Osbourne revealed that he suffers from permanent tinnitus. In other words, the ringing in his ears is constant. He described this noise as a "wheee!!", suggesting it is a high-pitched sound. Tinnitus has also made him slightly deaf. Ozzy Osbourne admitted that he never wore earplugs when exposed to loud volumes, and that is what caused this permanent ringing. He is convinced that if he had worn protection, his hearing would not have been affected.
4. Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins is an English songwriter, drummer, singer, and producer born in 1951. He is best known as the singer and drummer of the rock band Genesis. Phil Collins is a music legend very popular with older generations. He also won the hearts of younger people with the soundtrack to Disney's Tarzan. He suffers from permanent tinnitus and now depends on hearing aids. Phil told "Die Zeit" that his hearing loss occurred suddenly. It all started one day when he had spent the day singing in his studio. When he left, he went to pick up his daughter from school. Once home, they ate and then decided to play a video game; that's when the ringing started. According to him, "all of a sudden, my ear went sssssssshh." In a second, his left ear felt like it was underwater, then closed. All his attempts to clear it, including pinching his nose, were in vain. This hearing loss affected his ability to perform on stage, which partly ended his career.
5. Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis is an American songwriter and singer, a founding member of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. He is one of the biggest rock stars in the world and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 alongside the other band members. Anthony Kiedis suffers from both tinnitus and hearing loss. These permanent ear injuries date back to the 1990s, during a tour.
That night, he and his band had played better than they expected, in a huge, packed venue. After his performance, he went backstage with a band member, and that's when he realized his ear was ringing. By the end of the tour, it was clear that the damage was irreversible.
Since permanent hearing loss is difficult to treat, he has had to live with it since that night.
6. Neil Young
Neil Young is a Canadian-American musician, singer, and songwriter born in 1945. He is also one of the well-known musicians suffering from hearing disorders. His hearing problems (tinnitus) began in 1991, while he was recording his album "Weld." The following year, Neil had to step away from the stage and music because of the effects of tinnitus. His album 'Harvest Moon' was born from his refusal to hear any loud sound.
At the onset of his tinnitus, he had a strong sensitivity to loud sounds. Even though this sensitivity has lessened, he still has to live with his tinnitus. Since its onset, Neil Young has decided to take precautions to protect his ears and his hearing health.
7. Eric Clapton
