Beware of headphones - may cause hearing loss says Pete Townsend

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http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=161003

In a recent entry to his online diary, Pete Townshend talks about his hearing loss and warns fans that the use of headphones can lead to hearing loss. Townshend says the reason it takes him so long to record new material is because after he uses studio earphones, he experiences ringing in his ears and must rest for 36 hours. "My own particular kind of damage was caused by using earphones in the recording studio, not playing loud on stage. This is a peculiar hazard of the recording studio," he writes. "I was working with a piece of music that depended on me finding a correlation between the harmonic clusters in a piece composed using a computer and the overtones of a normal acoustic piano. With my hearing rolling off severely now at around three or four kilohertz, I don't have much luck with high harmonics or piano overtones (I can still hear speech OK). Needless to say, I didn't finish what I started." He adds a warning to those who use headphones, saying, "If you use an iPod or anything like it, or your child uses one, you MAY be OK. It may only be studio earphones that cause bad damage. But my intuition tells me there is terrible trouble ahead... we use earphones at almost every stage of interaction with sound." Townshend also said The Who will tour sometime this year.
 
> http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=161003 In a recent entry to his
> online diary, Pete Townshend talks about his hearing loss and warns fans
> that the use of headphones can lead to hearing loss. Townshend says the
> reason it takes him so long to record new material is because after he
> uses studio earphones, he experiences ringing in his ears and must rest
> for 36 hours. "My own particular kind of damage was caused by using
> earphones in the recording studio, not playing loud on stage. This is a
> peculiar hazard of the recording studio," he writes. "I was
> working with a piece of music that depended on me finding a correlation
> between the harmonic clusters in a piece composed using a computer and the
> overtones of a normal acoustic piano. With my hearing rolling off severely
> now at around three or four kilohertz, I don't have much luck with high
> harmonics or piano overtones (I can still hear speech OK). Needless to
> say, I didn't finish what I started." He adds a warning to those who
> use headphones, saying, "If you use an iPod or anything like it, or
> your child uses one, you MAY be OK. It may only be studio earphones that
> cause bad damage. But my intuition tells me there is terrible trouble
> ahead... we use earphones at almost every stage of interaction with
> sound." Townshend also said The Who will tour sometime this year.

Nice article.It could be as much down to the volume of music as the wearing of headphones but I think there is a real warning there for everyone.

When I was "performing" I used to love to get my head as close as possible to the amps at gigs as I thought this enhanced the whole live experience.Ouch ! To this day my hearing is not what it should be.

When The Who recorded the legendary Live At Leeds in 1970 it was the loudest gig ever recorded.

The decibel level was such that scientists stated that anyone within 10 yards of the stage will have suffered some form of permanent hearing loss.They likened it to a jumbo jet taking off in your living room
 
Re: Beware of Pete Townsend - may cause sexual harm to young children.
 
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