Even Your Top Hollywood A-Listers and World Leaders Aren’t Immune to Hearing Loss!
Hearing loss is not just for us normal folks!! There are plenty of famous people out there with Hearing Loss as well. Here are just a few that have been very public about their hearing difficulties.
#4: Peter Townshend
Pete Townshend, guitarist from The Who, suffers from hearing loss and tinnitus likely attributed to his extensive exposure to loud music. This led to the canceling of some concerts and delayed some music production in studio at points during his career. However, now he wears hearing devices to help him hear better and in-ear monitors while performing. Also, in 1989, Townshend gave the initial funding to allow the formation of the non-profit hearing advocacy group H.E.A.R. (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers).
#3: Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman is an American composer, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was the lead singer and songwriter for the rock band Oingo Boingo from 1976-1995. He is also widely known for his work on music scores in Tim Burton movies. Elfman reported that he has hearing loss from a predisposition and more so due to extensive exposure to loud music. He has only completed 2 reunion performances with Oingo Boingo since 1995 for fear that the loud music would cause further damage.
#2: Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German music composer. He remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. By his late 20s his hearing began to deteriorate. The cause of Beethoven’s hearing loss is unknown as there are many possibilities including: typhus, autoimmune disorders, or potentially from falling down. He also suffered from tinnitus. In his early 40s he stopped performing due to the severity of his hearing loss and focused his remaining years on composing music. He used an ear horn as one of his many hearing devices and often used paper and pen to communicate.
#1: Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton is the Forty Second President of the United States. He started noticing difficulty hearing in noisy environments which led to a hearing evaluation. Clinton was diagnosed with high frequency hearing loss and was fit with a pair of completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aids during his term in 1997. It is thought his hearing loss is likely due to aging and history of loud noise exposure from being in a band around loud music, use of rifles, and loud political rallies.
