Well This is Sad -- Eric Clapton going deaf

PittPastor

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-5251879/Eric-Clapton-72-admits-hes-going-deaf-tinnitus.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailceleb

At 72 years old, Eric Clapton is due to play Hyde Park and adamant about continuing to work.

Yet the musician has now admitted that he is suffering from deafness and struggling to strum the guitar.

The guitar legend has revealed he's anxious about being able to play the instrument and sing 'proficiently' due to the ailments he has including tinnitus, a ringing coming from inside the ear.
 

davismanLV

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It is sad, but not a new situation for the older rockers. I just saw Stephen Stills in concert with Judy Collins and .... with riches and good technology and memory, these people do an AMAZING job. He (Stephen) did little interlude about deafness, and "so be it upon you!!" and we all rallied!! So yes, deafness for a musician is bad. For a very RICH musician, not as much .... but in the end we're all dead so GOD BLESS US EVERYONE!! Oh wait.... was that too Tiny Tim??? I always F**K this $hit up!! Sad news indeed......
 

Rich Cohen

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I'm 71 and have had tinnitus for as long as I can remember. I also wear a hearing aid (one in each ear) for the past 3 years. But, I like to play and sing either without the aids, or turn them down low. I guess Eric's deafness is more profound than mine. I attribute my tinnitus to listening to really loud music as a teenager. While at college, I attended a Jefferson Airplane concert and thought I was very lucky to sit by the stage. However, one of the main speakers was right next to my head. Crazy!
 

PittPastor

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I'm 71 and have had tinnitus for as long as I can remember. I also wear a hearing aid (one in each ear) for the past 3 years. But, I like to play and sing either without the aids, or turn them down low. I guess Eric's deafness is more profound than mine. I attribute my tinnitus to listening to really loud music as a teenager. While at college, I attended a Jefferson Airplane concert and thought I was very lucky to sit by the stage. However, one of the main speakers was right next to my head. Crazy!

I have tinnitus too. Most of the time, I don't notice it too much -- it's become like constant background noise I have gotten used to. Fortunately, that hasn't impacted my hearing.

It is a shame, though, when we have to start giving up the things we love doing. How fortunate are those that don't.

Joe Negri, who is a bit of a local legend as much for his work on Mr Roger's Neighborhood as anything else, is also a world class Jazz musician. He is in his 90s and still performing and even teaching a class at CMU. That's truly remarkable!
 

matsickma

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My wife says my hearing is going but I say she doesn't speak loudly and tends to whisper.

I once said she mumbles and she exclaimed "I'm a Speech Therapist and don't mumble!". I then asked "Why didn't you ever correct my "th" speech impediment? Her reply was "I didn't think you wanted it fixed!"
So I then realized just how good a wife she was to not live with someone almost 35 years, be a Speech Therapist and not nag me about speech flaws!

I wonder if "Flying" sound systems were invented in response to a OSHA health standard to reduce SPL to concert goers?

M
 

fronobulax

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I probably have mild tinnitus although never had a formal diagnosis. I count myself very lucky that I realized early on that there was something wrong if my ears hurt after a concert and that was probably not good for a musician. Consequently I started wearing earplugs.

And then there is Beethoven...
 

rampside

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I have severe tinnitus, totally deaf in my right ear and about 50% loss in the left. My hearing aid certainly helps for most tones, but not all when it comes to speech recognition. The occlusion that comes with having the aid in, makes my own speech very difficult to judge the level of loudness at which I'm speaking

......but, in spite of all this, I'm motivated more than ever to continue playing guitar. Regardless of how good or bad it may be, for me, the fact that I can still do it, is such a beautiful thing. :peaceful:
 

Westerly Wood

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I know Pete Townsend been struggling with the ear thing for decades, and on one tour he had to play inside a box or something...The Who played LOUD.
 

DADGAD

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At 64, I worry about hearing loss. All my years of playing in bands, aerospace work testing jet engines and target shooting are taking their toll. Besides tinnitus, I have some high frequency hearing loss. I've gigged and have had the sound guy turn down the treble on my amp. (It sounded fine to me!) I'm concerned that what I hear is not what others hear. I partially blame a loud drummer that I have had to stand next to and his blasted cymbals. Today, I can't hear the coffee pot when it beeps that it has finished brewing. My wife hears it fine.

A couple years ago, I was at a music festival and Ted Nugent was playing. Loudest danged concert I've ever attended. Painfully loud. People need to realize that hearing loss is cumulative. People with those high power subs in their automobiles are destroying their hearing. If not today, tomorrow. It will catch up to them.

Protect your hearing.
 

walrus

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Goes with job. Paul Gilbert wears special headphones in concert now.

walrus
 

adorshki

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At 64, I worry about hearing loss. All my years of playing in bands, aerospace work testing jet engines and target shooting are taking their toll. Besides tinnitus, I have some high frequency hearing loss. I've gigged and have had the sound guy turn down the treble on my amp. (It sounded fine to me!) I'm concerned that what I hear is not what others hear.
I've got it, but it's related to a different issue and not continuous.
Not a result of over-exposure to damaging volumes but I'm with you on "painfully loud": Stevie Ray Vaughn duetting with Jeff Beck on "Superstition" in the Oakland Cow Palace back in mid-80's (and I'm a major Jeff Beck fanboy).
I think the soundman was tuning for where he was sitting, not the audience. Anyway, it was pretty painful in the seats closer to the arched ceiling of the place.
Speaking of Mr. Beck, I was saddened when he revealed he was dealing with it himself in a magazine interview, in the late '90's I think it was.
Since then he's explained that he's dealt successfully with the annoyance aspect of it at least, with special therapy, so it's out there:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus_retraining_therapy
Loss of high frequency sensitivity is the first to go and inevitable with age.
Then there's that issue where ambient noise like in big rooms starts to drown out speech.
What's really weird with my current condition is that the hearing reduction alternates from ear to ear and I also experience periods of hyper-sensitivity where the old fashioned analog stereo system sounds better than ever at lower volumes than I used to "require".
That's actually kind of fun and I try to get in as much listening as I can during those times.
Protect your hearing.
Yep. And I've read studies that indicate headphones and earbuds are bad. And I believe 'em.
 
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Quantum Strummer

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I can no longer play through my tweed Fender Deluxe in its sweet spot (~5 on the vol with the tone 6-7 and the other vol ~8) and be in the same room with it. It's less a volume thing per se and more about frequency response. Something about the amp's midrange makes my left ear buzz. If I keep playing when this happens the ear soon starts to feel plugged, and the plugged feeling can then last for days afterward. Even when I put the Deluxe in a different room my ear will sometimes tingle with certain notes. So I rarely use the amp now. :( Oddly enough even at pretty good volumes my AC15, also a mid-rich amp, doesn't cause any issues. So the Vox gets lotsa use now. No issues with my Princeton or other mid-scoopy amps either.

-Dave-
 
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