Hearing Guy Matthew Allsop’s interview with Stereophonics Jamie Morrison on how his tinnitus has been impacted since the pandemic. ALL musicians really should watch this.
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There’s a moment near the beginning of Sound Of Metal, the Oscar-nominated movie about a drummer who goes deaf, where Ruben (played by Riz Ahmed) is being diagnosed after experiencing bouts of sudden and overwhelming hearing loss. “Your hearing is deteriorating rapidly,” he is told. “You have to understand: your first responsibility is to preserve the hearing you have.”
Paul Checkley – Clinical Director at Harley Street Hearing and Musicians Hearing Services was interviewed for his advice:
or as most people know it, a high-pitched ringing you get in your ears, can be intermittent for some people, but for others it’s a chronic condition. It’s also irreversible.
“People say, ‘I came out of a gig and my ears were ringing’ without understanding that isn’t something to just joke about,” says Paul. “It means that potentially your hearing has been damaged irreversibly… There is no cure for tinnitus as such, which is one of the biggest issues that people face: you get this ringing in your ears and are then told that you’re going to have that for the rest of your life.”
Because tinnitus has no cure, only treatment, Paul recommends wearing earplugs. Harley Street Hearing & Musicians’ Hearing Services fit both heavy gig-goers and musicians with custom-moulded, “flat response” plugs.
“If you’ve got tinnitus, we would normally do a hearing test to allow us to assess it,” says Paul.
Call 020 7486 1053 or complete below if you’d like to come in for a Tinnitus consultation with one of our Hearing Therapists.
Click here to see the full Kerrang interview.
Listen to this invaluable interview with drummer Nigel Elliott including hearing advice & tips.
Nigel Elliott discusses the effects that over 40 years of playing music has had on his hearing, the knowledge he’s picked up along the way and the steps he’s taken to protect it.
Includes advice on how to look after your hearing health, and also tells how you can access professional moulded ear plugs for a fraction of the price.
Listen to the Elevate Music podcast here or click the image above
Listen to the first Elevate Music podcast – an invaluable resource helping musicians to improve their health and wellbeing. (Series 1 – episode 1)
The Elevate Music podcast focuses on a range of different themes across 15 episodes, including mental and vocal health, hearing problems, stage fright, drugs and alcohol, social media and the challenge of touring and many more.
The series launches with an episode featuring host Lucy Heyman talking to Help Musicians’ Head of Health & Welfare – Joe Hastings, and Adam Ficek, a member of Babyshambles.
“When I was thrust into the music industry, it was amazing, I felt adrenalised, but I didn’t have the same business sense I have now,” said Ficek. “On reflection, the biggest transition was after the phone stops ringing. It’s a business, it’s an industry and it’s neither good nor bad.”
He added: “There needs to be more information and awareness, to help musicians be better prepared. A place for musicians to go”.
The project is the brainchild of industry researcher and CEO of Elevate Music, Lucy Heyman, who also presents the podcast.
“Studies have shown that pop musicians feel unsupported in their careers with health and wellbeing issues, so this podcast is looking at the key topics that research tells us they need most help with,” she said. “The podcast, along with the other services that Elevate Music provides, is initiating a much-needed crisis-prevention model within the industry to try and stop issues from impacting on musicians’ health in the future.”
LIVIO is the world’s very first hearable with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
This is a hearing aid within a class of its own.
This new technology is completely revolutionary. It features integrated sensors and AI (this means it performs tasks that normally require human intelligence).
It’s proven that hearing health is directly connected to overall health and well-being. Meaning those who can hear can engage with the world around them and live healthier and better lives. Early treatment for hearing loss can improve or limit cognitive decline and dementia.
Some of the unique features of LIVIO:-
Want to be one of the first to trial LIVIO in the UK?
Call us to book the next available trial appointment on 020 7486 1053 or complete below
The Harley Street Hearing and Musicians Hearing Services group have been going global recently. Our practice was contacted by one of the biggest names in the music industry, Rihanna, to take ear impressions for in-ear monitors.
Rihanna the chart topping, eight time Grammy award winning artist who has millions of gold and platinum (riaa) song certifications is on the European leg of her ANTI world tour. She is set to travel to 18 different countries around Europe, with her shows in the UK going down a storm.
She was due to perform in Hamburg, Germany on Saturday the 9th of July. This is where our journey with Rihanna began.
The call came in late Thursday from Rihanna’s tour manager; she needed impressions taken for new in ear monitors and we had come highly recommended.
They were currently in Copenhagen, but were set to travel to Germany for Saturdays show. Could we help? “OF COURSE!” We reminded them of the minor detail that our practice and our audiologists were based in London or Manchester, this was not a problem, they arranged flights to and from Hamburg, with accommodation for an overnight stay.
“I was the chosen audiologist to go & packed my bags and the equipment I needed; and was on the Heathrow express from Paddington station to terminal 5.
Arriving in Hamburg I was met by Martin the driver who took me to the Park Hyatt Hotel in the centre of the city. Driving through the cities suburbs Martin pointed out the Rotherbaum tennis arena, and the University of Hamburg.
All checked in to the hotel, I received a call from Rhianna’s tour manager. He was going to send a driver to pick me up at 8 o’clock to bring me to the arena, so I could watch the show and then be on standby, as I was going to take impressions after her performance.
Jan (the runner for the tour) picked me up, he joked that he needed to find “roasted salted cashew nuts”, which by the sounds of it were not that readily available in Germany. We eventually found a supermarket which stocked these and the jubilation on Jan’s face was priceless; we could finally head to the arena.
On arrival a VIP badge was hoisted around my neck, I was shown to the golden circle where I could watch the show which had already started. Rhianna put in a great performance, her hit single “Work” being the highlight. How ironic, here I was in Hamburg, AT WORK, with Rihanna……
The show was over. Buzzing from her performance it was my time to shine! I was shown into her dressing room at around half past midnight, Rihanna stood up shook my hand and asked me where I was from. “London” I replied. We exchanged conversation, discussing rumours of playing perform at Glastonbury. Mimicking my English accent with playful jest I then took 2 sets of impressions.
We hugged, I wished her good luck for the rest of her tour, then I was driven back to the hotel by Jan as we joked about the “salted roasted cashew nuts”.
After breakfast Sebastian drove me to the airport the following morning. He noted that Hamburg was the city with the most bridges in Europe, more than Venice (an interesting fact).
On the flight back to London I reflected on my trip to Hamburg and how incredible Rhianna’s performance and her kind and approachable personality were.”
The ear impressions were then sent to a manufacturer in the United States who produce high performance in-ear-monitors.
In ear monitors are a small wireless device, worn by the performer, which would deliver the monitor mix directly to the ear at a volume that could be personally controlled. The in-ear-monitor gives around 30 dB sound isolation which in turn protects the performer’s ears.
It is fantastic that stars such as Rihanna are taking steps to protecting their hearing, as a big drive by the World Health Organisation recently aims to tackle preventable hearing loss caused by noise.
There are a number of solutions for individuals of any age to start protecting their hearing. Take a look at our website
Jack Stancel-Lewis – Audiologist – Harley Street Hearing & Musicians Hearing Services.
If you need ear impressions or any advice on hearing issues call 020 7486 1053 or complete below.
Jono Heale, from ACS talks to Paul Checkley – Harley Street Hearing & Musicians’ Hearing Services Clinical Director about hearing, how and why singers and musicians can damage this important sensory organ, and how to go about protecting this valuable asset.
Paul explains how the ear works, how it can get damaged, which particular frequencies and exposure times cause hearing loss, and how to conserve your hearing as a singer/musicians.
Did you know that our ears continue to grow throughout our lives? Weird, but true. It does mean you need to have your ear plugs and IEMs redone throughout your career.
The Musicians Hearing Health Scheme – brought to you in partnership with Help Musicians UK, Musicians’ Hearing Services and the Musicians’ Union. This scheme gives all professional musicians in the UK affordable access to specialist hearing assessments and custom fitted hearing protection.
For a one-off fee of £40 (£30 for MU members) you will receive a package worth over £200. To apply for the Scheme click here
Interview was carried out for iSing Magazine – a hub for singers with find reliable information, resources and advice about all things singing.
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