Beethoven is the most famous example of a musician who had a severe hearing loss. Beethoven lost his hearing in his early 20s and wrote many of his best works after he was deaf. Here are some other examples of famous musicians who have suffered hearing losses as a result of their careers.
Chris Martin of Coldplay
Chris Martin developed tinnitus at a young age that includes headaches and ringing in his ears. He works with the Action on Hearing Loss in the U.K. to try to get others to wear ear protection. Martin uses his own story to motivate others and wears in-ear monitors to protect his ears.
Pete Townshend of The Who
Pete Townshend suffers from hearing loss and tinnitus caused by noise. He wears hearing aids and talked about his hearing loss on the David Letterman Sow in 2012. His tinnitus began with whistles and beeps that he described as being similar to birds chirping in the morning.
Deaf rapper Sean Forbes
Sean Forbes is a YouTube rapper who has achieved stardom despite being deaf. His first YouTube video, “I’m Deaf,” garnered more than 500,000 views. His second video, “Let’s Mambo,” with Marlee Matlin, has nearly 250,000 views. Forbes demonstrates that people who are deaf can still be talented musicians.
Franki Valli
Frank Valli famously underwent ear surgery to correct hardened middle ear bones. According to an interview in Billboard Magazine, Valli said that one of his ears went up to 98% from 35%, and the other ear went up to 87%.
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys
Brian Wilson is famous for his work with The Beach Boys. It is not as well known that Wilson has been partially deaf in one year for most of his life.
Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton is a superstar guitarist. Unfortunately, his work playing next to overly loud amps caused him to suffer hearing loss and partial deafness.
Neil Young
Legendary musician Neil Young suffers from tinnitus. He wrote his album “Harvest Moon” with softer music to help him manage his tinnitus.
Ozzy Osbourne
The scion of heavy metal, Ozzy Osbourne has suffered damage to his hearing. Years of exposure to amps and loud music has caused him to suffer hearing loss.
Phil Collins
In 2011, medical problems, including hearing problems, led Phil Collins to quit music. Performing for years led to his hearing loss.
Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas
Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas reportedly suffers from tinnitus. He says that making music helps to quell the ringing in his ears.
Grimes
Grimes canceled her European tour in 2017 because of tinnitus. She reportedly once placed her ears against the speakers at a rock concert by Animal Collective.
When music is played too loudly, it can cause you to suffer from hearing loss. You can reduce your risk of hearing loss by wearing earplugs in loud situations such as concerts. You should also keep the volume turned down on your devices and audio equipment. To check your hearing, contact Accent today to schedule an appointment.