Famous Baby Boomers with Hearing Loss
Bill Clinton
Arkansas governor, Bill Clinton, cited hearing loss as a medical challenge in his annual physicals. Then his saxophone playing, rock concert and marching band attendances, loud campaign rallies and screeching presidential helicopters caught up with him. During his second term in the White House, Bill Clinton saught treatment for the difficulty he was experiencing with high frequency sounds. In 1997, Bill Clinton was fitted with a pair of almost invisible state-of-the-art digital hearing aids.
Lou Ferrigno
Lou Ferrigno, the Hulk in the Incredible Hulk TV show, suffered an 85 percent hearing loss due to an ear infection at a young age. He says: "If I hadn't lost my hearing, I wouldn't be where I am now. It forced me to maximize my own potential. I have to be better than the average person to succeed." At age 21, Ferrigno was the youngest athlete to become Mr. Universe, an achievement that has yet to be equalled. Lou Ferrigno has starred in over 15 movies, played professional football and won several body building titles, including Mr. America and Mr. International.
Barbra Streisand
Singing diva, movie star and political activist, Barbra Streisand has suffered from tinnitus (ringing ears or ear noise) since the age of seven. According to the Independent, a British newspaper, Barbra believes her volatile temperament stems from her hearing affliction, which disrupts her sleep and affects her balance.
William Shatner
Actor, William Shatner, known for his role as Captain Kirk in Star Trek, suffered so severely with a tinnitus problem as a result of stage/prop explosion on the set of StarTrek that he contemplated suicide. Fortunately, William discovered tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) involving a hearing aid device that helped him to ignore and habituate to the sounds of his tinnitus.
Phil Collins
Former Genesis drummer and vocalist, Phil Collins, recently announced that the would cut back on his live concerts because of his hearing loss. The 51 year-old baby boomer stated that he will perform live only occasionally to avoid further hearing loss in his left ear.
Bono
U2 lead singer, Bono, describes his hearing problem in his lyrics. Bono derived his name from a hearing aid store in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland which had a sign that read "Bonavox Hearing Aids."
Pete Townshend
According to the 57-year-old guitarist: "I have severe hearing damage. It's manifested itself as tinnitus, ringing in the ears at frequencies that I play guitar. It hurts, it's painful, and it's frustrating." Townshend is completely deaf in one ear as a result of an explosion Keith Moon initiated when he blew up his drum set live on stage in the early 1960's, and loud amps. His tinnitus resulted somewhat from the band's live concerts but mainly the loud volume in which he and Entwistle used to listen to playbacks over the studio "cans." There are reports saying that he is unable even to hear his phone ring. Recently Pete said: "The recent return to touring and to me playing electric guitar - albeit more quietly than in the 1970s - led to further deterioration of my hearing. My right ear, which encounters my own edgy guitar and the machine gun strokes of the drums, has suffered badly. Luckily for me, I still have my left ear, which seems to be less xxxx up. When I've worked solo in the past five years I've not used drums. This has meant I could play more quietly I think. With The Who, there is of course no way to play the old songs without drums. I've no idea what I can do about this. I am unable to perform with in-ear monitors. In fact, they increase the often unbearable tinnitus I suffer after shows."
Jeff Beck
During an interview, rock guitarist Jeff Beck said: "Yes, it's in my left ear. It's excruciating... I mean, it's the worst thing 'cause it's not... It never... It does go away - it's not true to say that it doesn't but, uhh... It doesn't... The doctors say it won't... It isn't actually going away - you've just gotta suppress... They try to come to terms with what it actually... Why some people fear it - that's the psychology behind it. They know it's there but why is it such a horrible sound? Well, you can say why is a guy scratching at a window with his nails such a horrible sound - I couldn't put up with that! This is worse!"
Morgan Fairchild
Born prematurely, actress Morgan Fairchild developed scarlet fever. As a child, she had numerous kidney and ear infections. Morgan describes herself as partially deaf.
Other Baby Boomers
David Letterman, Steve Martin, Sylvester Stallone, Richard Thomas, Burt Reynolds, Sting, Engelbert Humberdinck, Eric Clapton and Cher are among the many thousands of entertainers suffering from tinnitus and other hearing impairments that require the use of hearing aids.
