i’ve been known to pound out some aggression via some heavy music now and then, and i started detecting some loss a few years ago. got tested, and luckily it wasn’t too bad. right ear (drummer’s side) worse than left.

we all agreed that turning it down wasn’t an option, so we started wearing plugs. lol!

ken

I once missed the last train home and spent the night in a dance club without ear plugs until they started again (didn’t want to be out on the streets that late by myself). By 4am my ears were shot. I dropped into a convenience store on the way to the station and the guy behind the counter sounded like a cartoon character. Seriously. Took four days for the ringing to stop and I felt like such an idiot.

Here is something else I just thought of Mr G. Why does it seem that 99 percent of the time, Mr James Mathison is on your left side ? Are you trying to tell him something? Should he be offended by this? Hmmmmmmmm………….I think you need to ponder that thought.

Seriously though I’m sure that there is a way to accomodate your hearing loss so that you can continue your career for a long long time.
You could always keep photography up your sleeve though as your shots, like you, have real soul. Love the Hula Lady pic. So simple and so lovely.

Appreciated the gig you did in Adelaide a few weeks back. Tiny gig by your standards but you were charming and upbeat and made everyone have a great time. Warmth, talent and professionalism make a career not perfect hearing. You’ll be right!

I SAID YOU’LL BE RIGHT! xoxo

Hi there. That truly sucks. The digital hearing aids they do today are much smaller, and less expensive than they used to be. (I know, because I work for an Opticians here in the UK which also does Hearing Aids, and I have done a hearing care course).

A good message you’re putting out as a warning to everyone though – the level at which some young ‘uns play their music through their headphones is almost too loud if you are sat next to them. Seriously scary stuff.

Things aren’t as bleak as they are probably feeling right now (and hey, your photography skills are great by the looks of it).

Take care, and all the best, mate.

~Debs~

PS…nice blog! I’ll be back…

Too many years of bass playing and standing right next to those damn cymbals being splashed crashed and panged by heavy hitting drummers has left me with right ear high frequency rolloff.

And I even wore earplugs for the last 3 years too (of 7 years playing in rock bands two times a week on average)

I guess the rot started when I got my first walkman in the early 80′s and thought how cool I was blasting Judas Priest and Van Halen so loud that everyone around me on the school bus could hear the songs too.

Nowadays my wife keeps telling me (out of frustration having to repeat herself 3 times) to get a hearing aid but I am resisting because my left ear still works reasonably well… and I’m not even 40 yet (just )

I am getting better at lip reading, but it’s a hassle if you are driving
At least it’s my good ear faces the passengers.

My mother in law has been deaf in 1 ear since she was a kid (her sister jabbed a knitting needle in her ear… ultra-damn!) and she is a master of lip reading (having grown up monaural).

Thankfully the behind the hear hearing aids are getting smaller and smaller, and there are even some uber small “in-ear” ones just come onto the market which I looked into, but they are just too new to be reasonably priced.

The other sucky thing is the frequent battery replacements. Surely someone can invent some micro small rechargeable docking hearing aid. Once they do I will no doubt be wearing them.

That’s my GenX 2c take on the whole “approaching deafness by 40″ subject.