Musicians including Pete Townshend and Chris Martin are speaking openly about tinnitus and hearing damage in an effort to change attitudes towards hearing protection
Several music legends are speaking publicly about their experiences with tinnitus and hearing loss, hoping to break the stigma surrounding conditions often seen as inevitable in the music world. By sharing personal stories, they aim to encourage others to take better care of their hearing.
Pete Townshend, guitarist and songwriter for The Who, has long been a vocal advocate for hearing protection following his own struggles with partial hearing loss and persistent tinnitus. He first noticed the condition as “peeps and whistles and beeps”, initially mistaking them for birds.
“Legend has it that we were one of the loudest bands in the world. People often come up and blame me for the fact that they're deaf,” he once joked during an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.
One notorious moment still cited by sound engineers and hearing health experts occurred in 1967, when drummer Keith Moon’s exploding drum kit left lasting damage to those on stage and off. Townshend himself has said it contributed to the deterioration of his hearing.
A growing chorus for change
Townshend is a supporter of H.E.A.R. (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers), a non-profit set up to promote hearing health across the music industry. The group raises awareness about both the cumulative damage caused by loud music and the risks of sudden exposure to extreme volume, such as gunfire or explosions.
Chris Martin, the Coldplay frontman, has also spoken regularly about the importance of hearing protection. He attributes his own tinnitus to early exposure to loud music and now urges both children and adults to use earplugs or other protection at concerts and while playing instruments.
Other musicians to speak about their experiences include Neil Young, Barbra Streisand, Will.I.Am, Lars Ulrich and Ozzy Osbourne. Each has highlighted the long-term effects of prolonged exposure to loud music and stressed the importance of prevention.
The risks are not limited to performers. Audience members attending loud concerts without protection may also suffer permanent hearing damage, particularly with repeated exposure.
A cultural shift in how we listen
With louder environments and more widespread use of headphones, hearing specialists say it is vital that both musicians and fans understand how to reduce their risk. By treating their ears with the same care they give to their instruments, artists are helping to shift attitudes in an industry that has historically downplayed the risks.
Members of the public are being encouraged to take similar care of their hearing health. “Your ears are always on, you can’t close them like you can your eyes,” observes Vincent Howard, a Clinical Audiologist and Co-founder at Hearology®, which supplies hearing protection amongst other forms of custom-fit earware and alongside various specialised audiology services. “Would anyone even dream of looking directly at the sun? Of course not. But knowingly exposing your ears to excessive noise levels is the aural equivalent of looking directly at the sun!
Hearing protection is effective and non-intrusive and should be a must-have for all musicians. It’s really easy to buy online, but we only offer custom-fit hearing protection at Hearology® because otherwise we can’t vouch for its safety and effectiveness - ear canals come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes, and generic-fit hearing protection may or may not fit yours. Custom-fit is the only way to guarantee zero leakage and that’s important, because if not protecting your hearing is bad, then thinking you’re protected when you are not is possibly even worse!”
As Pete Townshend and others continue to campaign, their voices are helping to make hearing health part of the everyday conversation, not just in music.
References
- Celebrities Speak Up – Hearing Health Foundation article on musicians with tinnitus, including Chris Martin and Pete Townshend
- Chris Martin of Coldplay discusses his hearing loss – Coldplay’s lead singer discusses his hearing loss
- Rock stars and tinnitus – Louder Sound article on musicians with hearing damage
- Famous artists with tinnitus – Overview of musicians dealing with hearing issues and their advice on prevention
