My partner Chelle is fantastic at helping me come up with ideas for this column. One evening recently, she suggested blind musicians and proceeded to show me a series of YouTube videos and TikToks of incredible virtuoso performances by the visually impaired.
Off the top of my head I could name a fair number of candidates — Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Blind Boys of Alabama, Jeff Healey, Ronnie Milsap, Jose Feliciano, Terri Gibbs, Moondog and the trio of Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell and Blind Lemon Jefferson.
But apart from Beethoven, I couldn’t think of a single one who was deaf. Turns out there’s quite a lot of them, and you can basically put them in two categories — those who have lost their hearing due to being musicians, and those who lost it for other reasons.
Grammy-winning percussionist Evelyn Glennie started losing her hearing when she was eight, and was deaf by age 12. Glennie taught herself to hear using various parts of her body, and always performs or records in bare feet so she can feel the vibrations.
Sean Forbes is a deaf hip-hop performer. Just go to his Spotify, and you’ll see his most popular track is called I’m Deaf. I hate to say this, but it’s awful. The first line of the lyric is “My name is Sean…” He has every right to do whatever he likes, but he really plays up his lack of hearing. It defines him as an artist. His profile photo is him cupping his ears and his bio mentions little else. This is because Forbes’ goal is to encourage other individuals with hearing loss to pursue their love of music. Unfortunately, there’s not much else for the rest of us.
Awolnation frontman Aaron Bruno says he’s been 80% deaf in his left ear since he was a kid, but adds that the only way you’d know is by watching what seats he chooses in the movie theatre or that he always mixes his favourite instruments to the right channel.
Former Slowdive singer and guitarist Rachel Groswell has tinnitus due to an ear infection she developed in 2006. This led to uneven hearing loss to such a degree that Goswell had to get physiotherapy to rebalance her body. In a strange coincidence, her 14-year-old son was born profoundly deaf.
Like Groswell, Genesis drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins also contracted an ear infection. In 2000, Collins began to experience diminished hearing as a result — compounded by exposure to loud music for 30 years.
The loud music, flash pots and explosions didn’t help KISS’s Paul Stanley, either. The frontman was actually born with a rare condition called level 3 microtia. Most of the cartilage on his right ear was missing, and he was partially deaf. In 1982 he had surgery which took part of one of his ribs and constructed it into an ear — but didn’t do anything to improve his hearing.
Beach Boys co-founder and principal songwriter Brian Wilson suffered an injury to his right ear when he was 11 years old. As a result, he’s dealt with chronic recurring ringing in that ear ever since.
Jazz and pop singer-songwriter Mandy Harvey lost hearing in both ears when she was 18. Diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome as a child, she received multiple surgeries in the hope of preventing hearing loss. She suffered from depression due to not being able to play music anymore, until Harvey learned to use visual tuners and basically taught herself to sing all over again. She rose to prominence by appearing on Season 12 of America’s Got Talent.
One of Japan’s biggest J-Pop stars, Ayumi Hamasaki continues to record and perform despite the fact that a Menière’s disease diagnosis in 2006 robbed her of hearing in her left ear two years later. She has been experiencing hearing loss in her other ear since 2017. She has pledged to keep performing, stating, “The stage is where I belong. It’s the only place I really, truly exist. I don’t know anything else.” I respectfully disagree. Hamasaki is a pioneering Pride advocate, a pet adoption and animal cruelty awareness role model and has donated millions of yen to charity, including 30 million following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Menière’s disease is the reason why you don’t hear from Huey Lewis any more. He cancelled all future tour dates and gigs in 2018 after receiving the diagnosis.
Barbra Streisand has 10 Grammys, two Oscars, five Emmys, eight Golden Globes and a Tony Award. She has had tinnitus throughout her six-decade career. It was first noticed when Streisand was nine years old.
And here’s a quick rundown of some of the stars who have lost hearing due to exposure to loud music either from rehearsals, studio headphones or stage amplifiers.
Tinnitus is the reason why Danny Elfman packed in fronting the band Oingo Boingo and switched to composing film soundtracks. Similarly, KT Tunstall moved to doing musicals after getting a tinnitus diagnosis. She cut back her touring schedule after losing any hearing in her left ear in 2018. It never came back and the tinnitus persists in her other ear.
Eric Clapton made a name for himself in the ’60s by insisting his amp be cranked full blast during recording with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. He didn’t tone it down afterwards in Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney & Bonnie, or Derek & The Dominos, either. Let’s not forget that personal trauma, age and drug use can also be factors to developing tinnitus.
Enter Ozzy Osbourne, who may have Clapton beat in at least one of those categories. Ozzy lists tinnitus among his many ailments — along with Parkinson’s, the aftereffects of multiple spinal surgeries, and chronic pain following an ATV accident.
Bob Dylan also has tinnitus — though he says it’s manageable.
Bono, whose name was ironically inspired by a U.K. hearing aid brand, says he sleeps with a white noise-generating machine in order to override the tinnitus which would otherwise keep him up at night. He’s pretty sure it came as a result of a particular U2 gig in Boston in 2005.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin blames the band’s early shows for him developing tinnitus.
Sounds like rapper and Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am has a more severe case of it. In 2010 he revealed doctors told him he will eventually lose his hearing.
Alice Cooper wears what he calls “clearing aids.”
Both surviving original members of The Who — vocalist Roger Daltrey and guitarist / singer-songwriter Pete Townshend — suffer from tinnitus. Townshend claims his is the result of headphones, mostly — something he’s claimed for decades.
Likewise, both Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis and James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich of Metallica have near-constant ringing in their ears.
Electronic artists Grimes and Moby both deal with tinnitus symptoms.
Ted Nugent not only has guitar amps to thank for his tinnitus, but also his love of guns.
Foo Fighter frontman, former Nirvana drummer and frequent high-profile collaborator Dave Grohl claims to have been hard of hearing all his life — made worse in recent years due to constant exposure to his own loud music. He describes himself as “fucking deaf” — with particular problems hearing conversations in busy rooms.
Speaking of Grohl, Red Hot Chili Peppers vocalist Anthony Kiedis says the onset of his tinnitus came after touring with Nirvana in 1993 and is now permanent hearing damage.
Sting has suffered noise-induced hearing loss as a result of his years as the frontman of The Police. He is now a celebrity ambassador for the Hear the World Foundation, which helps children access hearing health care.
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Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.
