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how do you know you don't have hearing loss - have you had your ears tested?
i ask because i know a bunch of guitar players who say they have no hearing loss, but those of us who know them know differently. none of them have had their hearing checked.
I've been wearing earplugs to go to concerts/clubs ever since I was 22 or so and went to a Springsteen concert that was so loud, my ears rang for days. I wish I'd wised up even before that when I used to haunt LA punk clubs.
Once I started wearing them I realized that without them the sound in most clubs/live music settings is way way too loud. I find it literally painful to experience, and I can't hear the music as well -- it's just a roar without enough definition. The earplugs improve the experience for me all around.
Nowadays when I play, I usually wear one in the ear closer to the drummer -- with singing I can't seem to be able to wear two.
I had excellent hearing when I was young. I have some mild tinnitus now and while I don't have terrible hearing loss, I know I've experienced some. And as noted, I've been more careful than many.
I always always ALWAYS carry earplugs and I urge people to use them.
Once I started wearing them I realized that without them the sound in most clubs/live music settings is way way too loud. I find it literally painful to experience, and I can't hear the music as well -- it's just a roar without enough definition. The earplugs improve the experience for me all around.
Nowadays when I play, I usually wear one in the ear closer to the drummer -- with singing I can't seem to be able to wear two.
I had excellent hearing when I was young. I have some mild tinnitus now and while I don't have terrible hearing loss, I know I've experienced some. And as noted, I've been more careful than many.
I always always ALWAYS carry earplugs and I urge people to use them.
It'll come back(the ringing, not the hearing)Back in my 20s we would come out of our practice with our ears ringing. Back then, though, the ringing would eventually stop.
It'll come back(the ringing, not the hearing)
Ringing is not always related to hearing loss either. You can have hearing loss without ringing or have ringing without hearing loss.
I have permanent ringing but it usually doesn’t bother me. Way too many loud gigs as a teenager. But, there are far worse things to have.
Avoid recalcitrant plebney![who knows what that's from?]<EDIT> I'd put in a spoiler-if I knew how.
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Great question. No, I haven’t had my hearing tested in I don’t know how long. However, I am a school teacher and have a fairly large classroom. Students 25 feet away from me will be having a very low-level conversation (just above a whisper) and I’ll chime in on their discussion... they are shocked that I hear them. But like I mentioned earlier in this thread, I will probably awaken to 50% hearing loss tomorrow due to my boasting.
You can have a hearing loss limited to specific frequencies.
Great point. Hopefully I will avoid something like that. Especially if the hearing loss is related to the “lower” frequencies.
Yeah, my loss is in the mids, especially with some background noise going on.
Getting your hearing tested is good to establish a baseline for future testing.
I appreciate the advice. I just got a physical but that didn’t include a hearing test. I will look into it.
Other tests to establish baselines are PSA, testosterone, thyroid and A1C(3 mo. average glucose level). Just tell the Doc you feel tired all the time.
Don't ask me how I know. 
Things can sneak up on you. Also get your eyes checked by a opthalmologist and visit the dentist at least a couple of times a year. I go at least 3-4 times a year for checkups/cleaning.
Just sayin'.
Prevention is SO much easier.
Very true. I see my tooth doc every 6 months... gotta preserve the choppers! Colonoscopy is due in about a year. But you are so right... being proactive is imperative! Thanks again!Other tests to establish baselines are PSA, testosterone, thyroid and A1C(3 mo. average glucose level). Just tell the Doc you feel tired all the time.
Things can sneak up on you. Also get your eyes checked by a opthalmologist and visit the dentist at least a couple of times a year. I go at least 3-4 times a year for checkups/cleaning.
Just sayin'.
Prevention is SO much easier.
Age is not kind - hearing is like eyesight, and tends to suffer as we age. My understanding is that the higher frequencies (10kHz) suffer first and then the effect slowly spreads to lower frequencies with age.
It's also common to have hearing damage in a frequency band that corresponds to the length of your ear canal, typically about 6kHz. I have the dreaded 6kHz notch filter, and will have it for the rest of my life. Use of poor quality earbuds is a massive risk factor...
I now wear musician earplugs (25 dB reduction) at all gigs, irrespective of how loud they are.
Speaking of gigs, here's my Rumble 500 + 115 pulling its (thankfully very light) weight at a bar gig tonight...
Sounds like an advertisement for a vasectomy clinic...Prevention is SO much easier.
Also vitamin D.Other tests to establish baselines are PSA, testosterone, thyroid and A1C(3 mo. average glucose level). Just tell the Doc you feel tired all the time.
Things can sneak up on you. Also get your eyes checked by a opthalmologist and visit the dentist at least a couple of times a year. I go at least 3-4 times a year for checkups/cleaning.
Just sayin'.
Prevention is SO much easier.
It’s heartening to see a frank and humorous discussion of hearing loss. We know that many, many rock stars warn of hearing loss and that it’s not a badge of honor—even for military vets. I keep spare ear plugs in both cars and every instrument bag so that they’re at hand whether I’m performing or in the audience. I have some mild hearing loss that makes hearing conversations difficult when there is background din, more of an annoyance than a disability but still an annoyance. Yes I’m over fifty and have learned that a reasonable stage volume is important for hearing safety but ALSO because it sounds better. I find either of these reasons sufficient to address the concern.
In regards to hearing loss, the guy that come to my mind immediately is Brian Johnson of AC/DC.
It doesn’t matter how good you are or what level of popularity you are, hearing loss is hearing loss and will derail your entire musical life if you aren’t careful.
There’s nothing tough about going without earplugs. It’s just setting yourself up for failure. It took me far too long to figure that one out. I didn’t wanna be “that guy” with earplugs in at a show, now, they are as important as bringing my bass.
It doesn’t matter how good you are or what level of popularity you are, hearing loss is hearing loss and will derail your entire musical life if you aren’t careful.
There’s nothing tough about going without earplugs. It’s just setting yourself up for failure. It took me far too long to figure that one out. I didn’t wanna be “that guy” with earplugs in at a show, now, they are as important as bringing my bass.
