My hearing is rubbish

That’s not a technical term used by audiologists funnily enough but it’s a fact. Added to which it’s quite frustrating to realise that it’s largely self inflicted.

Like most young kids I didn’t give my hearing a great deal of thought as I was growing up. I loved music, particularly LOUD music and when I played my guitar I sat right in front of the amplifier (about a foot away) and turned it up full. Riding motorcycles there was no advice around to wear ear plugs although fortunately these days the volume inside a helmet on a motorcycle is recognised as very dangerous to hearing. I doubt I would have heeded the advice if it had been available anyway.

Similarly wearing headphones I wasn’t careful about volume and loved my music loud. On stage as a guitarist through the 80’s I couldn’t get the monitors loud enough. Competing with a drum kit on a live stage the volume can get to unbelievable levels.

One morning after years of aural abuse I woke up to hear a street cleaning truck outside my window. It was there for what seemed like ages so I went to the window and couldn’t see a thing. I looked all around the house before I realised the noise was in my head. It’s still there most days and although I would really like it to go away I’m lucky that I cope pretty well. It rarely stops me from sleeping and I only really begrudge the fact that it makes my hearing even worse.

I also have quite severe high frequency hearing loss. I’m not deaf but quite hard of hearing and need hearing aids to hear the average conversation or to cope with listening in noisy environments. The technology is amazing but nowhere near as effective as a decent healthy pair of ears!

Tags: hearing loss, loud music, music, tinnitus