The Day the Music Died (aging boomers battling hearing loss inflicted by too much rock music)

NYT ^ | 07/12/07 | STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM

[TigerLikesRooster]

The Day the Music Died

By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM

Published: July 12, 2007

MICHAEL BELLUSCI’S quotation in his high school yearbook was, “It ain’t rock if it ain’t loud.” Growing up in Flushing, Queens, he played guitar and drums, idolized Jimi Hendrix and performed in cover bands. Later, he went on the road as Ringo in the musical “Beatlemania.”

These days, if his left ear happens to be covered by a pillow, Mr. Bellusci, 47, hears the alarm clock as a faint tick, tick, tick, not a blaring BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. In cacophonous restaurants, he watches people’s mouths so he can follow the conversation.

Years of high decibel noise and trauma from speaker feedback damaged his right ear. Mr. Bellusci, who plays ukulele, recorder, guitar and bass in an acoustic duo, now says, “If I could do it over again ...”

How many boomers are thinking the same thing.

As more members of the generation born after World War II enter their 60s, and the effects of age conspire with years of hearing abuse, a number find themselves jacking up the volume on their televisions, cringing at boisterous parties and shouting “What?” into their cellphones.

[bmwcyle]

Horn loaded design developed in 1938.

[federal]

Yeah I liked Spirit a lot, I have always thought that they were more influential on other bands and musicians than they were a commercial success.

Their staccato off beat rythems and stop and go type of composing went on to great commercial success with bands such as Steely Dan and even The Eagles. I’m not sure they directly influenced those band but they were the first band I remember which used that difficult to master cadence.

They had a unique sound in the early days, it was easy to tell they spent many, many hours arranging their music and practicing their timing.

[LaineyDee]

No placebos....just a combo of natural products. You can search "natural tinnitus remedies" in your search engine to find them. :) I can't recommend any particular brand, because I haven't tried them myself.

I've studied herbals and natural products for over 20 years and have found there are remedies which have been long forgotten or have been pushed aside for the "quick fix" synthetics give. Naturals take awhile to see results....but have fewer side effects. One should always make sure... if they take prescribed meds...that the naturals don't interfere with them.

[eddie willers]

104 dB at 1 watt? Now that’s an efficient speaker!

I install home theater and a little trick we use to locate which speaker is left/right/center etc., is to hook up the speaker....go to the "home run" run of speaker wires....skin them....take out a AAA battery and touch the leads together to get a nice little "pop" letting you know know which speaker wire you hold in your hand.

A few weeks ago we finished one where the customer took his old pair of Klipsch La Scalas (the...ummmm..."portable" version of their corner horns) to use as his front Left/Right.

When I used that little 1.5 volt AAA battery on them, you'd have thought a cannon had gone off...LOL!

[libstripper]

I can't exactly say I feel especially lucky, even though I'm fortunate to have the Smith, which is one sweet shooting revolver. As far as my experiment is concerned, I'd urge anyone who owns a hand gun, especially one that's intended for personal defense, to try it once. That way you know what a HUGE noise it's going to make if you ever have to fire it in anger and you do little noticeable long term damage to your hearing, as long as you don't try to repeat the experiment. IMHO the unprotected discharge is also a very good educational experience for a young person who's just learning about guns to undergo since it bears no resemblance to what's seen on TV or in the movies and effectively demonstrates the serious power of a hand gun.

[RockinRight]

What? I can’t hear you! I’m playing a Motley Crue CD.

[Wolfie]

My Grandfather’s generation is suffering hearing loss from working in noisy factories and mills. Something future generations certainly won’t have to worry about.