Interesting Interview with Martin Kemp Regarding Tinnitus

Firstly, I’m not sure if this is the most suitable place to put this thread, so mods, please move it if you feel it isn’t.

I stumbled across this interview which I haven’t seen before, and I’ve pretty much seen all the celeb type interviews when it comes to tinnitus. This was aired on a day time UK tv show called ‘loose women’. It’s interesting to see how many people in the studio either have some form of it or know somebody who does.

Martin Kemp Has Suffered From Tinnitus for 30...

 

Thanks for posting this video Ed209 as I haven't seen it before and found it interesting.

Tinnitus is a very common condition that many people habituate to with or without treatment in a relatively short period of time. However, I want to stress something. Tinnitus comes in many forms and intensities and no two people experience it the same.

Many of these celebrities and musicians that have tinnitus and are able to habituate within 6 months to a year, their tinnitus it is not like the overbearing loud intrusive noise that a lot of the people complain about that visit tinnitus forums on a regular basis, for help and support and are under the care of an ENT clinic or seeing a Hearing Therapist/Audiologist for tinnitus and hyperacusis management. If this was the case you would probably find they wouldn't function so well on a daily bases and say they can dismiss or ignore tinnitus so easily unless they tune into it.

Loud intrusive tinnitus can be very debilitating and isn't something that can be easily tuned out although one can learn to accept it and habituate to some degree, with the help of devices like: white noise generators, sound therapy and the use of medication when required.

Michael

 

I had to basically quit my music career because it hit me like a ton of bricks. It made me suicidal for a long time so I know how serious it can get. However, I found it interesting seeing it openly discussed on TV by celebrities. I thought it was worth posting to see what everybody makes of it.

 

He says 10 years in the interview, not 30 as the headline. Weird.

 

He's had it for quite some time, there is no telling how ''severe'' his is, maybe he just habituated to a point where it no longer bothers him that much ... My psychiatrist has tinnitus as well, his came from an acoustic trauma, he compared the sound to glass being cut by a disc cutter and he could hear it pretty much anywhere yet he is fully habituated. His office is one of the quietest places I've been in after onset and he just sits there in total peace for 8 hours a day. It did take him some time and effort to get there though ...

 

It is interesting especially as he seems so calm about it (I’m hoping if mine doesn’t go I’ll get to this point)
What I find funny is the amount of celebrities that have this and don’t do much to bring it into the mainstream. I knew virtually nothing about T till I got it and I’m still learning and trying to take as much information in about it as I can.

 

I’d have to disagree with this somewhat. The majority of celebrities likely have it mild, but there are some notable ones who have it bad, including: Pete Townsend, Jeff Beck, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Paul Gilbert, Brian Johnson, and many more. Jeff Beck has talked in detail about the devastating effect it had/has on him and Craig Gill (drummer of Inspiral Carpets) tragically killed himself. The others have also talked a lot about the seriousness of their condition and how it affects them.

Tinnitus doesn’t care if you’re a celebrity or not; it will get anyone.

 

The automatic subtitles aren't very accurate either




Thank you for posting the video, it was interesting indeed. I like seeing this kind of intervention and seeing the mindset of such people, for whom living with this condition is apparently no big deal. I try to give tinnitus as little importance as they do.

 

On the same note as the not so accurate subtitles haha I wonder if dogs and animals in general get tinnitus as well? Never thought about that.....

 

There is an article somewhere, I’m sure, where Jeff Beck talks about being suicidal because of his T. Anyway I’ve scraped some excerpts together which are still interesting:

Jeff Beck: "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!"

As Jeff told MTV - June 1993, He was asked to do a special guest spot with Guns 'n' Roses but had to cancel out. Jeff was going to play "Locomotive" with the band, but during the rehearsals, he used Slash's amp rig which aggravated his tinnitus forcing him to drop out of the gig


Pete Townsend: 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 from an explosion when Keith Moon blew up his drum set live on stage in the early 1960's and loud amps. He has tinnitus, resulting partly from the band's live gigs but mainly the deafening 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. The Sun newspaper reported Townshend said his hearing got worse after the band's recent US tour. Quote from Pete: "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," the 57-year-old said. "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 @#%$ 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: Yeah. Its misery. It is the most miserable thing thats ever happened to me. I mean, Ive had two nasty accidents, both involving head injury, which some people have said could be part of the tinnitus, and it may well be - like the fractured skull - but its not been anything like the internal misery - youre locked in a room with your noise, you know. And you run out in the street, and its still there - a bus goes by, and you can still hear it, because its such a high-pitched scream. Its pretty nasty.


For three years I wore these in-ear noise generators that actually give you white noise, and you balance it to the lowest level of audibility. It doesnt mask it, it sits underneath, its a discrete noise, its constant, to simulate tinnitus with white noise so youre hearing both things. And their theory is that after a certain time, you get into the habit of listening to both sounds, and when you switch off the unit, your brain then automatically wants to know where that sound has gone. It moves your attention away from the real tinnitus. But it takes that long - if youve had tinnitus for five years, its going to be two-and-a-half years of wearing these things at least. And almost to the day, she was right, it started to get a little bit less noticeable. I havent had them on for eight months - Ive lost them, I dont even know where they are. That means my lifeline is now cut, I was sort of hanging on to it - and now Im not enslaved to having to wear them any more. So there is help out there - but it is a **** when you get it.

 

I agree @Ed209 tinnitus will get anyone that is not my point. The people that you have mentioned have tinnitus without doubt. Severe debilitating tinnitus is a different kettle of fish and I do not believe they have this type. I have the type of tinnitus that is variable. According to my consultant and Hearing Therapist they do not see many people with this type of tinnitus. Therefore, I know the different intensities or severities of this condition. Granted, it is still my own personal experience.

My tinnitus can be completely silent, mild, moderate, severe, or extremely severe. I wear white noise generators when required and also take clonazepam. These celebrities and musicians have tinnitus and probably habituated within 6 to 18 months as many people do. You will find they haven't been under the care of a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist to treat their tinnitus long term or have hyperacusis. I shan't be commenting further on this, but just wanted to convey my views that when tinnitus reaches severe levels, it cannot be easily dismissed as some of these celebrities would have us believe.

Take care
Michael

 

We can never assume how long it takes anyone to habituate, and being so personal, it’s impossible to know what each person faces without walking in their shoes. Jeff Beck was under professional care for years and so were many other musicians. Craig Gill never really spoke about his tinnitus, and his friends and family assumed he was doing well (they knew he had it). He later committed suicide and left a note to say he could no longer live with it.

This is Jeff Beck talking about his care under an ENT and hearing therapist.

Jeff Beck: Yeah. Its misery. It is the most miserable thing thats ever happened to me. I mean, Ive had two nasty accidents, both involving head injury, which some people have said could be part of the tinnitus, and it may well be - like the fractured skull - but its not been anything like the internal misery - youre locked in a room with your noise, you know. And you run out in the street, and its still there - a bus goes by, and you can still hear it, because its such a high-pitched scream. Its pretty nasty.

For three years I wore these in-ear noise generators that actually give you white noise, and you balance it to the lowest level of audibility. It doesnt mask it, it sits underneath, its a discrete noise, its constant, to simulate tinnitus with white noise so youre hearing both things. And theirtheory is that after a certain time, you get into the habit of listening to both sounds, and when youswitch off the unit, your brain then automatically wants to know where that sound has gone. Itmoves your attention away from the real tinnitus. But it takes that long - if youve had tinnitus forfive years, its going to be two-and-a-half years of wearing these things at least. And almost to theday, she was right, it started to get a little bit less noticeable. I havent had them on for eight months - Ive lost them, I dont even know where they are. That means my lifeline is now cut, I was sort of hanging on to it - and now Im not enslaved to having to wear them any more. So there is help out there - but it is a **** when you get it.

 

He admits his is fairly mild, and even agrees it would be much harder if it was worse. I had it mild for around 13 years or more, and it might as well have been a different condition. What I have now is so far removed from what I had before. This is career ending stuff that I have now. Career ending for me at least. Some people might have carried on, and I think this comes down to how successful you are to some degree. If you’re in an internationally renowned, Grammy award winning band, then I’d imagine it can change the landscape somewhat. Personality also plays a huge role. I’m naturally a bit of a hypochondriac, and have OCD tendencies where I worry myself sick.

 

He "says" it is mild and does not bother him (much) anymore. He also says he only has it in one ear and feels it would be much harder to have it in two (which I think is nonsense since it's annoying either way). It's always difficult to tell whether that is the complete truth, Pete Townsend says his Tinnitus improved with homeopathic medicine in an interview with Letterman but judging from your quotes that is not quite the case. They are after all in "showbusiness". I do believe that they found a way to live with it ...

What do you consider mild by the way (in terms of loudness)?

 

Judging the loudness of a sensory perception is the hard part. Before I could ‘tune in’ to hear it in quietish rooms, but it was a pretty loud hissing at night time. Kind of like letting air out of a tyre. I had it like that for a long time. My increase dramatically raised the bar in terms of intrusiveness (loudness) and added more sounds. The worst being a really high pitched dentist drill noise. Alongside side this I’ve got a lower rumbling (drone) in my left ear, a mid tone in my right, and layers of hissing. It changes from day to day and sometimes can morph into cicadas as well, although not as much nowadays. I can hear it everywhere but the shower, but I’ve never really tried to listen for it in there.

Edit: the main difference, however, is that it never bothered me before. It took me a few months to get used to it, and then to be honest, I never really thought about it again.

 

Chris, the point at which he says it’s probably because it’s not as bad as some people have it is from 1:40 onwards when Janet Street-Porter asks him how he copes. He replies that he doesn’t have it as bad as some people.

 

I wish celebrities would stop saying it's not that bad. I wish the ones whose tinnitus is severe would speak out more and raise awareness.

 

You're right, my bad.

Sorry to hear about your T being so intrusive man, that sucks, I hope you'll get to a point where it stops bothering you as much. I think Martin's tinnitus is indeed not as severe, he probably wouldnt be talking about it in such a frivolous way if it were severe. I would say my T is moderate as I can hear it over most ambient sounds but it is masked by sound over 50db (or sounds like crickets and water). Mine is a 8khz constant tone in my head (on the top left) which also causes me headaches and a 6khz tone in my right ear which I only hear in silent rooms, the "head" tone is by far the most difficult one though ...

 

He says himself that his is mild. He even says he has to tune into it to hear it.

Yes he says it is mild, and I have no reason to not trust what he says.

@Ed209
When I watch videos like this I always wonder if they're talking about the same condition as what I have. I think some people in here understand, but I can't blame "the public at large" to have such a poor understanding of the severity of T when programs like make it sound like it's not a big deal. I don't accuse them to do this on purpose of course - but they're so nonchalant about it, and in their defense, I do think that it's not a big deal for the majority of T sufferers, so it somewhat faithfully represents the issue at large. That tells me that what we're missing is not so much "T awareness", but "severe T awareness" - because the former could be achieved successfully and still yield a "meh" response.

 

I'm inclined to agree with you @GregCA . It does feel like different conditions. I sometimes think about this tuning into it question though. I have a lovely family friend who has had T for years and says he only hears it when he tunes into it. He feels bad comparing his with mine as he considers it so mild. However it was interesting when I sat with him in a noisy pub recently and he said he could easily hear his T when we discussed it. I have another colleague who has severe bilateral hearing loss and loud T since he was 15. He describes his T as unmaskable and always available for him to hear but that he barely notices it. I really want to know why my brain isn't doing this yet. Maybe it's just time but maybe it's how I'm wired. I hope it's the former.

 

@SugarMagnolia
These celebrities haven't got the faintest Idea what loud debilitating tinnitus can do to a person's mental wellbeing when it is sustained over a long period of time, even when there are periods when the tinnitus is less intrusive. The majority of them have never been to an ENT clinic for treatment long term or worn white noise generators or taken medication like clonazepam like some people in this forum. Neither of them know what hyperacusis is which often accompanies tinnitus, and yet I haven't heard one of these celebrities mention their sensitivity to sound.

That is why I know they do not live with severe tinnitus. When they first acquired tinnitus it was severe but they soon habituated and this is normal for a lot of people. However, this is not severe tinnitus that people live with which cannot be easily dismissed or ignored. With respect to these people, they haven't a clue what severe tinnitus is like long term.

Michael

 

Yes Greg, I already confirmed that in my latter post, no need to get upset. Anyway "tuning into" can mean a whole variery of things, maybe his is moderate but he has learned to "tune in and out of it" ...

 

I think you already gave the answer, both of them already have it for quite some time. Also the "wiring" of our brains is plastic so in time this should change too ... My psychiatrist has quite severe T (unmaskable glass cutter sound) in his right ear and he is fully habituated (works in a silent office). Took him around 3 years though ... he has it now for 12 years and says it became a minor issue to him after all this time. He used to wear White noise maskers as well.

 

Yea my dentist drill is a head tone. It’s like my brain is screaming. A cure would be great, but for now I cope well. I just really wish I could go out and do some live music again which is my passion.

I can hear mine VERY clearly above 50db. I can hear it no problem in a packed bar, or next to loud traffic for example. At night it’s pretty ridiculous, but again I’ve learnt to ignore it and not emotionally react to it. There are still times where I can have a bit of a relapse and feel like crap again. On the whole though I’m on the up.

 

That’s what makes Tinnitus so complexing brownbear. I wasn’t around when you signed up but saw some of your old threads. How you feeling now? I hope you’re feeling better bud.

 

With respect Michael, how do you know? I don’t even know how half my family members truly feel let alone celebrities I’ve never met. Many people have hidden battles and traumas that they face on a daily basis. Like I said earlier, Craig Gill tragically commited suicide because of tinnitus, and he was a famous musician. Jeff Beck had TRT and had a terrible time with tinnitus and he was very public about it. Same can be said about a few other musicians and actors. On statistics alone, with the amount of celebrities there are worldwide, some of them have got to have severe debilitating tinnitus.

Some do talk about it, others don’t, but it’s unfair to presume to know about all of them. I’d certainly agree A LOT more could be done by them as a whole. For all we know the Clapton’s, Becks and Townsend’s of the world could have privately donated more to research than all of us combined. Who really knows?

It reminds me of how people found out about George Michaels philanthropic activities after the fact. He kept it all private and yet it turned out the guy was giving away money left and right but no one ever knew about it.

 

I hope you are right. I think you are. The only thing that worries me about my examples is that I'm not sure it bothered either of them that much even in the beginning.

I'm pretty good thanks @Ed209. Still get some bad times. I used to feel that I could only be happy if I was completely unaware of my T, but I can have plenty of good times even when fully aware of my T now. Still get more than my fair share of bad days, where it's really just surviving. Can't tell what makes a good or bad day anymore though as the level of my T is fixed. If I could sum it up I'd say I'm no longer suicidal and have a pretty good quality of life, but if was given a way out - I honestly don't know. I'd only stick around for my family.

 

Thank you for being respectful about this @Ed209 and I appreciate that. As a tinnitus veteran and counselled quite a few people over the years with tinnitus. I can tell by a person's voice their facial expression even by the words they use when talking about tinnitus, whether they know what it's like to live with loud intrusive tinnitus. I say again, because I don't want there to be any misunderstanding by others that might read my post.

The celebrities that you mention and the many people that get tinnitus. In the early stages it can be severe and debilitating there is no doubt. However, as I've previously said, the majority of people habituate within the first 6 to 18 months. After this period the tinnitus will recede into the background although they may hear it by tuning into it or in quiet surroundings. Due to habituation (acceptance) their brain is no longer troubled by it. This is not the type of tinnitus I'm talking about.

When a person has loud intrusive tinnitus and this level of intensity is sustained, or becomes a chronic condition it will require long term treatment. A person may have periods when the tinnitus reduces in severity, however, this type of tinnitus is not like the people above that habituate long term. I have habituated twice to tinnitus. The first took 2 years and the 2nd 4 years. Even though I have habituated it has limitations. My tinnitus can reach severe and extremely severe intensity that requires me to take clonazepam and use white noise generators when required. I say again, this type of tinnitus is different from tinnitus that most people habituate to within 6 to 18 months and does not become a long term problem.

All the best
Michael

 

It’s tough brownbear, but I think it gets better the longer we have it from a mental resilience point of view. I know there’s a lot of arguments and stuff on here, but at the end of the day, we’re all on the same team. We’re all in this together.

I’m glad to hear you feel better and I wish you well for the future.

 

It all boils down to awareness at the end of the day. If it was taught in schools from an early age then I think society would be a lot better off. It’s just brushed under the carpet far too often, and most of the population don’t even know it’s a risk. I think in this day and age, especially with the amount of money that was spent on the ‘no smoking’ campaigns, a little government money could have been spent making everyone aware of tinnitus.

The last two days I’ve been back here I’ve seen a lot of arguing, and I’m thinking it was never like this on the other forum I frequented for my other condition. Everyone was on a united front. Something about tinnitus seems to make us want to tear shreds out of each other. I wonder what other forums are like for other debilitating conditions. I wonder if they argue as much as us lot do.