"The Ringing Does Not Bother Me" —Paul Gilbert

[DudeMannDude]

Paul Gilbert, a guitar virtuoso explains his troubles with hearing loss and tinnitus in this interview.



Starting at about 12:20 is when he first mentions hearing loss and tinnitus.

"The ringing does not bother me that much" - 16:10

Apparently his hearing loss is so bad he cannot hear hi-hats on a drum set! - 16:30

Watching this made me not so scared of continuing on with music. I definitely am not about to stand in front of Marshall stacks like him! However, seeing someone that apparently has profound hearing loss and severe tinnitus not just playing music, but looking relaxed and living his life fully makes me feel like tinnitus is not the end of the world.

Granted, I would not recommend continuing on like Paul has. Jamming with Marshall stacks and crazy drummers is definitely risky business for anyone's hearing. But if you want to play some acoustic guitar, I would not be too scared. But then again, all of our ears are different, so exercise caution with all things potentially loud.

 

[walkthroughwalls]

Thanks! I'll start watching the interview now. He always seems to be one of the friendliest and most optimistic people ever

He plays live with huge headphones for hearing protection and monitoring:

 

[Jeff Lupp]

Paul is truly an inspiration to all of us who deal with Tinnitus. I had the privilege of knowing him while attending the musicians institute. About 2 years ago i was hit with tinnitus, and it hit hard. It is still fully there, but things are much better now. I am fortunate, and do not have hearing loss, although it is hard to hear over some times. As far as music, i play more that ever, whith great joy........

 

[Bill Arsenault]

Paul Gilbert. Al Dimeola. Neil Young. Devin Townsend- and several other world-class guitar players have spoken openly about having severe cases of the big T.
But the majority of musicians who have it severely will not discuss it because they realize that most people will figure they got exactly what they deserved.
Also not a wise career move for a working musician to publicly advertise that their ears are ruined.
But unless someone has had a long close relationship with a person who is debilitated by severe T - and they have seen the agony day after day - Then they just won't believe how serious this is unless it happens to them.
So I find it hard not to sympathize with just about anyone who has this.
What blows my mind is all the older career musicians who don't have it.
How did they not get T. An ear is an ear - isn't it???
Hope everyone is hanging in there. Best Wishes to all.

 

[Allan1967]

How do they find peace with it?

 

[PDodge]

How do they find peace with it?

Never stop shredding? I figure Paul's tinnitus must be off the hook with his huge hearing loss. What an awesome dude

 

[Allan1967]

Never stop shredding? I figure Paul's tinnitus must be off the hook with his huge hearing loss. What an awesome dude

Shredding?

 

[PDodge]

@Allan1967 *** VOLUME WARNING***

 

[Flamingo1]

I wonder if pop performers like Madonna and Lady Gaga have T. They've put on tons of concerts and have been around for decades. I don't see how they wouldn't have it!

 

[JohnAdams]

Paul Gilbert is an absolute madman.

 

[linearb]

things might bother me less if I had a net worth of $4,000,000, too.... also, rock stars get easy access to all the best tranquilizers and painkillers. And weed.

That said -- there's an incredible spread in how people tolerate this and a lot of it does seem to come down to how we individually are wired. I have a sibling who had quite bad tinnitus for a period of time following a vehicle accident and acoustic trauma. At the time she had other, much more pressing (as in "can straight up kill you") health problems still in recent memory, but even so, it just didn't seem to bother her at all, and her doctor told her "well, tinnitus sucks, but at least you're someone who is not, generally, very anxious or aroused.... because when people who are wired at a deep level towards anxiety or obsession get tinnitus, it's an entirely different beast". I do not in any way disagree with that statement; obviously quieter tinnitus is easier for anyone to deal with than louder tinnitus, but for a given tinnitus sound (meaning, the subjective decibel levels of each tone, and the frequencies of those tones), there are going to be people who do better or worse hearing that same sound, just like there are people who do better or worse after having an amputation, car accident, or any other serious life-altering incident.

 

[Agrajag364]

things might bother me less if I had a net worth of $4,000,000, too.... also, rock stars get easy access to all the best tranquilizers and painkillers. And weed.

That said -- there's an incredible spread in how people tolerate this and a lot of it does seem to come down to how we individually are wired. I have a sibling who had quite bad tinnitus for a period of time following a vehicle accident and acoustic trauma. At the time she had other, much more pressing (as in "can straight up kill you") health problems still in recent memory, but even so, it just didn't seem to bother her at all, and her doctor told her "well, tinnitus sucks, but at least you're someone who is not, generally, very anxious or aroused.... because when people who are wired at a deep level towards anxiety or obsession get tinnitus, it's an entirely different beast". I do not in any way disagree with that statement; obviously quieter tinnitus is easier for anyone to deal with than louder tinnitus, but for a given tinnitus sound (meaning, the subjective decibel levels of each tone, and the frequencies of those tones), there are going to be people who do better or worse hearing that same sound, just like there are people who do better or worse after having an amputation, car accident, or any other serious life-altering incident.

This times 100. It is fascinating how some people are just wired not care about having this loudly.

 

[Drone Draper]

It's funny how Paul Gilbert is worshipped by guitar nerds like my brother for his shredding, but 99.5% of people will know him from this song.



Btw, their drummer died in February 2018. It's chilling how there are members of this forum would rather be where he is instead of Gilbert. Tinnitus sucks.

 

[Bob den Hartog]

I wonder if pop performers like Madonna and Lady Gaga have T. They've put on tons of concerts and have been around for decades. I don't see how they wouldn't have it!

It seems Lady Gaga once wrote a song called 'Tinnitus' for the ARTPOP album, which she talked about on a radio show, but then never got around to finishing - or decided it wasn't right, or something. But that does lead to believe that she has it.

 

[Tom Cnyc]

things might bother me less if I had a net worth of $4,000,000, too.... also, rock stars get easy access to all the best tranquilizers and painkillers. And weed.

That said -- there's an incredible spread in how people tolerate this and a lot of it does seem to come down to how we individually are wired. I have a sibling who had quite bad tinnitus for a period of time following a vehicle accident and acoustic trauma. At the time she had other, much more pressing (as in "can straight up kill you") health problems still in recent memory, but even so, it just didn't seem to bother her at all, and her doctor told her "well, tinnitus sucks, but at least you're someone who is not, generally, very anxious or aroused.... because when people who are wired at a deep level towards anxiety or obsession get tinnitus, it's an entirely different beast". I do not in any way disagree with that statement; obviously quieter tinnitus is easier for anyone to deal with than louder tinnitus, but for a given tinnitus sound (meaning, the subjective decibel levels of each tone, and the frequencies of those tones), there are going to be people who do better or worse hearing that same sound, just like there are people who do better or worse after having an amputation, car accident, or any other serious life-altering incident.

pshh. you can get any of the same tranqs, painkillers, and weed that they can. c'mon.

I also don't think PG is a big drug user, at least not these days. the 80s are long over.

 

[Strife_84]

I wouldn't care that much about my ringing but:

-I have to do my own mixing
-I have barely any money

If I had millions and someone would do my mixing, I would have much easier time with this.

I still would rather have silent head than millions through.

 

[Flamingo1]

Another musician with hearing problems... Sugar Ray singer Mark McGrath reveals he's losing his hearing https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/sugar-ray-singer-mark-mcgrath-005609261.html