Lots of us have suffered hearing loss to one degree to another....part of the game, in my opinion. I know plenty of non-drummers who also have lost a lot of their hearing. Getting older is a b---ch. Hearing and seeing get worse....and if you live long enough, you will eventually go blind and deaf.

Someone saw my 103 year old grandmother putting heavy cream on her oatmeal. They asked her what her doctors had to say about that. She said, "I don't know, they all died." So why would you even consider stopping playing the drums because some whippersnapper doctor said it was the cause your hearing loss? He's obviously never played the drums. Tell your doctor to buzz off.

If I had been warned, (when I was 8 years old) that I would lose my hearing if I pursued drumming, then I'd STILL have pursued it. If they told me when I still had most of my hearing and that I would keep it if I would quit drumming, -or lose it if I didn't, the I'd still choose to be a drummer.

Something bad is going to happen to all of us. We all are going to suffer. It's going to get worse and worse. If you're not ready for that, then get ready.

-my 2 cents

You must continue; If you're talking about Playing daily possibly by yourself..

Will keep your mind and body coordinated; you can record yourself and work around everything else.

Sometimes I have a hard time believing " It's Drums" per se that causes hearing problems. It's a musical instrument... not a cannon... and not a stinking amplifier

stay away from the loud electric guitarist and loud electric instruments in general

like a mile or two away

Here's the advice the doctors gave Pete Townsend about his hearing loss,either start wearing ear plugs or learn to read lips.

keep playing, and tell the guitar player to turn down a bit. :D Keep on Pl

Hello Brian- I am 65 and just played a 4th of July party at a cabin by a pond- fireworks over the water ( so YES- Smoke on the Water was played... loudly!) I use ear plugs/ protection ALL the time when playing or practicing... I didn't when I started and when we toured in the 70's never THOUGHT about hearing protection- (we needed to hear to be TIGHT- right?...) thoughtless youth- now we suffer.... but so did my parents eating pork bellies cooked in lard... we live- we learn-we accept our mistakes and go on.

I've had new lens implants in my eyes and see better now than ever as a kid... if I need hearing aids I guess that will be part of my aging. BUT NEVER will I stop drumming till they close the box... and they'd better put a pair of ProMark 747N Japanese Shira Kashi oak sticks in my hands.... Keep doing what makes you happy- LIFE is too short and the problems we face are worse every day. The 'escape' I feel every time I drum- in front of 2000 people or just my dog- is worth it. Keep at it- just take necessary precautions to extend it as long as you can!!!

Can you repeat that?

My hearing has deteriorated in a strange fashion. I can hear music in a quiet restaurant when nobody else can detect it. But if I'm in a crowd, that's another story. Recently with friends at an outdoor event, too near a speaker and with unnecessarily high volume on the music, I had a very hard time catching conversation. As all have said, it's coming.

If they offer hearing aids, why not? Have them give you the ones that look like earrings.

Hi Brian,

I had same issues last year when I was told to get my hearing checked by my family because they were sick of me saying "What did you say"

After many years of construction power tools and drumming I am almost completely deaf. If someone is looking at me I have become pretty good at reading lips.

I come from the old school before protection was even mentioned and been playing drums over 50 years. If I am in a quite setting I can only hear intense ringing.

I was told I needed hearing aids and purchased the best I could get because HEARING is vital to living. After wearing the hearing aids all day and the batteries die (I opted with the rechargeable one) it is pretty scary how deaf I am.

It really is difficult to comprehend what it is like.

I even still have a hard time hearing sometimes with the hearing aids on.

But if I didn't have music in my life it would be sh**.

It's funny how insurances will not cover anything to do with hearing but it is as important as anything else to do with health and well being.

Every night I lay down it scares me what it would be like without totally hearing anything. I try to do the best I can now to not damage what I do have left because at the moment there is no way of replacing what is damaged to my ears.

Just for the record, I can't give up music or playing drums. it's just in the blood

Good Luck with this difficult choice and I hope you can come to some kind of a conclusion because in the end it is your final choice of what you can handle in life.

Wayne

I can hear just fine....as long as the person is looking at me and I can see their mouth....BUT if there's an airplane flying by or any kind of ambient sound, then it's like I'm watching a silent movie. Yeah, I used to play loud when I was a kid....That's what I loved. I loved the feeling of what the sound was doing in my skull. But, of course, it was terrible for my hearing over time. Oh well. That was the game I knew. I'm getting arthritis in my hands, too...knuckles starting to swell up and the whole deal...So what? Those are the scars that many musicians suffer. Terrible, but that's life.

Brian,

First, let me say that I have a great deal of respect for the medical profession. Like many other disciplines, the medical field only gets more and more complex as technology, lawyers, government requirements and corporate interests play larger and larger roles. Having said that, I have also encountered many doctors with the “God Complex,” who believe that you should do EXACTLY AS THEY SAY or suffer the consequences. Bite me, Doc! Do what you want to do. Make modifications (ear plugs) if it seems like the right thing to do. What’s the purpose of living a long, healthy life if you are not enjoying it?

Josh