New Bradley Cooper Movie "A Star Is Born" Features Main Character with Tinnitus

Maybe this will give more awareness?

http://www.pajiba.com/film_reviews/review-brad-cooper-and-lady-gagas-a-star-is-born-is-damn-good.php

"Cooper is Jackson Maine, a country-rock star struggling with alcoholism, pill addiction and an increasing debilitating case of tinnitus. "

 

Most people who see this movie and hear of this guy's tinnitus will probably brush it off and pay little attention to it. We on the other hand see it differently. To us it's a recognition of a problem that plagues us daily.

 

I doubt this wil raise much awareness.
It will probably put money in Lady Gaga's purse though.

 

Yeah you're probably right.

 

Now if Lady Gaga were to suddenly succumb to tinnitus, THAT would open some eyes!

 

Doubt it. Chris Martin said he has it, Noel Gallagher...

I think Only William Shatner has made any kind of crazy awareness effort in the capacity of an influential celebrity. Just IMO.

 

Well there was Baby Driver last year with the primary character having tinnitus, and now another one this year. That's a good start.

 

Neil Young... Eric Clapton... Barbra Streisand... Will i am... Ozzy Osbourne... Meatloaf... and that's just the tip of the famous names.

 

They are probably so high on drugs with their careers they wouldn’t even notice.

 

Will it be on the Cinema in the UK?

 

It’s out on the 5th of October, Glynis.

 

She suffers from major anxiety issues and PTSD. I think one could safely assume tinnitus would kill her... and that indeed would open some eyes.

 

How do you know she hasn’t already? Most pro musicians have tinnitus.

 

She does have an unreleased song literally titled "tinnitus" and here she is discussing sudden hearing loss on twitter:

 

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/10...-star-is-born-is-a-common-rock-n-roll-hazard/

 

Watched it yesterday.

 

Does it do tinnitus justice? Does it portray it as the serious life-wreckening condition it is?

Baby Driver was an absolute insult to T sufferes making it look cool, and that all that was needed to cope was listening to music trough ear buds 24/7, which real T sufferes know of course is the worst thing to do.

 

How was it?

 

It depends on your interpretation, regarding tinnitus. It’s shown a few times by playing a high pitch sound. There’s a few scenes where his brother tells him he needs to protect his ears or it will get worse (and one with a Dr telling him), and there’s a part he goes to a hearing convention and doesn’t admit to his wife where he’s going. I suppose this shows the embarrassment side. I liked it, but it is quite a slow paced movie. However, it’s very emotional.

There’s another scene where he tells a Dr/counsellor how he got tinnitus, and how he tried to hang himself (he doesn’t verbatim link the tinnitus to the hanging but it could be inferred). The reason my opening sentence says it depends on your interpretation is because you could easily link the tinnitus to his prescription drug and alcohol abuse problems, or you could see them as separate issues. Having tinnitus myself, my interpretation is that his ear problems were driving him to get drunk 24/7, but I’d say the average viewer would not make this link from the way the movie is presented.

He doesn’t show signs of being afraid of loud environments, but then, that’s not always the case in real life, and since he’s a rockstar, it’s believable.

Overall, his ear issues are definitely a part of the plot. Just don’t expect to see him constantly complaining about his ears though. It’s inferred they are getting worse when he keeps saying “what” and has to lean in during conversations. Very similar to how Paul Gilbert behaves in his interview about tinnitus.

 

Speak for yourself... as a "real" tinnitus sufferer with severe T... headphones were the only way to cope for me.

 

So I saw it with my wife. Immediately after watching it...she said "I see why you wanted to watch it so bad!" Her interpretation, as a non T sufferer (and someone intimate with film) was that there was visual and audio links in the scenes between tinnitus and his drug use. In her mind, it was very clear that he drank and used benzos to calm his tinnitus.

 

Yea, that was exactly my interpretation.

 

"To coincide with the film release in the United States, the American Tinnitus Association (ATA) has been raising awareness of the condition and the extreme impact tinnitus can have on people. ... In their press release, the ATA say that Cooper portrays with exacting detail and mirrors the reality of someone struggling with tinnitus" ​

David Stockdale quoted here, too.

http://www.audiology-worldnews.com/awareness/3214-tinnitus-depiction-in-hollywood-movie

 

I am glad it helps you. But if one has noice induced tinnitus then headphones for many hours a day, are generally (not always, but very often) a bad idea.

 

Another good article here:

https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/20...ndition-jackson-a-star-is-born-bradley-cooper

And there’s even an article warning people about tinnitus and hearing loss in Men’s Health magazine:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/me...nitus-can-be-heres-how-to-avoid-it/ar-BBOvDkO

I’d say it’s safe to assume that this movie is raising some awareness.

 

My question posted on ATA's facebook page, and their response-


Wouldn't it be nice if GaGa and Cooper took up tinnitus as a charity cause for research?


· Reply · 1h

American Tinnitus Association we have approached and not at this time .... but we will continue to make contact

 

I saw this last night not knowing there was a tinnitus correlation. Basically the opening scene where his brother wants him to put ear plugs/head phones whatever on and he says "I wear those it's ALL that I hear." I knew immediately and was like "he has tinnitus!" Most people, lucky for them, wouldn't have caught it or gotten it. First character in a movie or tv show I've ever seen where this is their affliction and I felt like crying. Unfortunately thinking about it so much and being emotional about it seems to have really ramped it up since last night and today.

Then again -- could just be one of those days.

 

The main character in the movie "Baby Driver" also has tinnitus

 

@Kell don't stop thinking about it!

 

My main problem with it is he says he's had "the tone" since birth. This doesn't make sense in the context of him being a musician and playing loud live shows (which are REALLY loud in a theater with a decent sound system.) They really should have defined his tinnitus as being a direct result of loud music exposure only and not muddy it with the birth defect monologue.