Photo credit: Alex G licensed under CC BY 2.0
by David M. Sykes, Vice Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Noise-induced hearing loss afflicts people of all ages, but since it’s cumulative and incurable, the greatest burden falls on older people who have incessantly exposed themselves to loud noise in their careers and due to recreational choices. Such is the case with many stars in music and entertainment. AARP recently reviewed research from Germany that analyzed the heath insurance records of 7 million people from 2004 to 2008 and found that “working musicians are nearly four times more likely to suffer noise-induced hearing loss than those in any other profession”…. and they were “57% more likely to have tinnitus brought on by their work.”
Hearing Health magazine also recently reported on this and included a list of a dozen well-known performers who’ve given up music due to hearing loss.
So if you’re wondering why some of your favorite rock stars aren’t touring any more, it’s possible they simply can’t hear what they’re performing. Sure, everybody knows classical composer Ludwig von Beethoven wrote—and even conducted–some his finest work after he was completely deaf. But if you’ve read about him, you would also know how profoundly unhappy he was about it.
Our ability to hear isn’t self-repairing–once you’ve blown your ears, they’re gone for good. So it’s good news that AARP seems to be awakening to the problem of noise-induced hearing loss. They’re big and powerful enough to get things done in Washington DC, where the health effects of exposure to loud sound was swept under the rug nearly 40 years ago. It’s definitely time for AARP to pay attention!
