Do Edge and Bono really have tinnitus?

[herci]

I have this now for 3 years and hyperacusis too. Which means I can't attend any concerts ever again. (not even with custom earplugs).
I constantly see that Bono and Edge are mentioned to have tinnitus as well. But very vaguely... I have never read anything in an interview that they tell it.
Does anyone have any info of this? Any quotes or interviews.

I also read staring at the sun refers to T... but are we sure?

And if they have it, why don't they talk about it? Why don't they warn us...or is it bad for business to talk about it Which is usually the case with many musicians.

Very recently Will.I.AM admitted to have a quite severe tinnitus as well...because of the loud music.

 

[Galeongirl]

Where did you "constantly" see this mentioned? I've never ever heard of them having it. I know Phil Collins has it, but Bono and Edge? Doubtful.

 

[cobl04]

It's a horrible condition, my cousin has it and he has attempted suicide because of it. Don't know what I'd do if I couldn't attend concerts or go out or listen to loud music. Surely they'd have it to a degree... how could you not after 30+ years in the music business?

 

[Just_Boy]

Bono probably has it. But i couldn't find any creditable reference.

U2 lead singer, he even sings about it in his lyrics. Bono derived his name from a hearing aid store in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland which had a sign that read 'Bonavox Hearing Aids'.

Famous People with Tinnitus

 

[BVS]

Lyrics referring to it?

Where do you constantly vaguely read about it if they aren't talking about it?

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

It's clear that the lyrics to Staring At The Sun are about his issues with tinnitus.

 

[stealthboy]

I have it - a constant high pitch ringing in the ears - and I got it from one U2 show up in Boston back in 2005. The first year dealing with it was really, really awful. I'm a light sleeper and it made my nights painful. I've since been able to adjust and it's not as noticeable anymore, and and I have to sleep with a white noise generator at night.

I advise everyone to wear ear plugs at every concert (the good foam kind that go into the ear canal and expand back to fill all the space).

Most people claim you'll suffer from "hearing loss" listening to loud music, but believe me, getting tinnitus is so much worse than just hearing loss.

I was so excited at the Zurich show to see folks handing out free ear plugs and most people were taking them. Very cool!

 

[herci]

Lyrics referring to it?

Where do you constantly vaguely read about it if they aren't talking about it?

I have searched for hours on the internet for stuff about tinnitus, eventually you often come up with lists of famous people who got T.
They are always mentioned, sometimes with 'staring at the sun' as well.
But I think one site copies the info from another one and so it goes on...it's always the mentioning...and staring at the sun, but nothing more. So maybe someone made it up. Or someone thinks staring at the sun is about it. But then it is stange that they mention Edge as well.

See here:
WIKIPEDIA (on tinnitus)

Notable individuals
Notable individuals with tinnitus include:

Richard Attenborough[76]
Thomas Bangalter[77]
Ludwig van Beethoven[78]
Igor Balis[79]
Jeff Beck[80]
Bono[81]
Peter Brown[82]
Eric Clapton[80]
Louis-Ferdinand Celine[83]
Graham Cole[84]
Charles Darwin[85]
John Densmore[86]
Al Di Meola[87]
Danny Elfman[88]
Till Fellner[89]
Paul Gilbert[90]
Gary Glitter[91]
Francisco de Goya[92]
Charlie Haden[93]
Ayumi Hamasaki[94]
James Hetfield[95]
Adolf Hitler[96]
Howard Hughes[97]
Garrison Keillor[98]
Myles Kennedy[99]
Steve Kilbey[100]
David Letterman[81]
Huey Lewis[80]
Rush Limbaugh[101]
Martin Luther[102]
Steve Martin[103]
Joseph Mawle[104]
Stephin Merritt[105]
Michelangelo[106]
Roger Miller[107]
Moby[108]
Leonard Nimoy[109]
Tim Pagnotta
Andy Partridge[110]
Tim Powles[100]
Tom Tancredo[111]
Tony Randall[112]
Ronald Reagan[113]
Jimmy Savile[103]
Robert Schumann[92]
William Shatner[114]
Alan Shepard[92]
Paul Simon[108]
Bedřich Smetana[115]
Vivian Stanshall[116]
Jack Straw[117]
Barbra Streisand[103]
Peter Stringfellow[118]
Pete Townshend[92]
Alex Trebek[119]
Lars Ulrich[120]
Neil Young[92]
Vincent van Gogh[121]
Will.i.am[122]

and here: How to Ease Tinnitus (And Its Intensity) | eHow.com

here : Turn Off Tinnitus

and here with some stories on how celebrities have gotten it:
Celebrities with Tinnitus


and here:
Rock and Roll Hard of Hearing Hall of Fame
April 2006

The official selection for the 2006 Rock and Roll Hard of Hearing Hall of Fame (http://www.hardofhearinghalloffame.com) has been made. Selection criteria are based on consideration of an individual's body of work, and damaged inner ears because of music amplification and use of headphones.

Initial Selections for 2006:

Pete Townshend - Guitar (The Who)

Jeff Beck - Guitar (Yardbirds)

Eric Clapton - Guitar (Yardbirds)

John Entwhistle - Bass Guitar (The Who)

Mick Fleetwood - Drums (Fleetwood Mac)

James Destri - Keyboards (Blondie)

Bono - Vocals (U2)

Phil Collins - Vocals (Genesis)
Music and Hearing Loss

and it keeps going, I'm just at page 2 of google...

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

They are always mentioned, sometimes with 'staring at the sun' as well.
But I think one site copies the info from another one and so it goes on...it's always the mentioning...and staring at the sun, but nothing more.

Get outta here, really?

I was completely joking when I mentioned that song earlier in this thread.

 

[Galeongirl]

Sooooo is there any official source stating this rather than baseless rumour sites that copy it off each other? Perhaps it's not Staring at the Sun that's mentioned, but just The Sun...

 

[BVS]

They are always mentioned, sometimes with 'staring at the sun' as well.
But I think one site copies the info from another one and so it goes on...it's always the mentioning...and staring at the sun, but nothing more. So maybe someone made it up. Or someone thinks staring at the sun is about it.

I think you just answered your own question...

One person made it up and the other sites just kept using that as a source.

You don't find it odd that this one site magically knows something, yet there isn't one source anywhere showing a band member talking about it?

The site seems very speculative as well, if someone plays acoustically it's because they have T.

As far as SATS that's ridiculous, so is every song that mentions the word ear about T?

 

[U2girl]

I thought Phil Collins, Pete Townshend, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield were partially deaf, not just tinnitus cases ?

 

[Jive Turkey]

Why would it be so far fetched that a rockstar has tinnitus? herci asks a question and you all jump all over her. I'd find it hard to believe that they dont have it to some degree after so many years of playing live music

 

[Galeongirl]

Why would it be so far fetched that a rockstar has tinnitus? herci asks a question and you all jump all over her. I'd find it hard to believe that they dont have it to some degree after so many years of playing live music

Well, he claims he sees it "everywhere", yet I never heard of those two having this problem. Sure it's not farfetched to think they have it, but I've never heard of it.

 

[BVS]

Why would it be so far fetched that a rockstar has tinnitus? herci asks a question and you all jump all over her. I'd find it hard to believe that they dont have it to some degree after so many years of playing live music

I don't think anyone is jumping all over anyone, I think some are just questioning why they're believing this source if they admit they know the members have never mentioned it.

 

[MikeyJB]

It honestly wouldn't suprise me that their hearing would be affected after 30+ years of playing loud music, not just live but all the time in the studio, jam sessions, etc. I read that Pete Townsend's hearing difficulties weren't as a result of live concerts but more the result of using headphones in the studio. As someone who sometimes plays my electric guitar through headphones out of consideration to my housemates/neighbours, I would definitely take this to be true - after about an hour's session my ears are suffering.

Personally, I'm 21 and do have some worries about the long-term damage being done to my ears, mainly due to going to gigs, nightclubs, and so on. Mainly though through daily usage of my ipod and the in-ear phones that, whilst great, can only lead to lasting damage, surely???

Back on topic, I did read somewhere recently where Bono/Edge said that they had undergone hearing checks and remarkably were showing no signs of permanent damage, although I would hasten to think that they will certainly develop problems later in life because of the aforementioned reasons - constant exposure to loud music in gigs, studio, rehearsals,etc.

 

[U2387]

Sooooo is there any official source stating this rather than baseless rumour sites that copy it off each other? Perhaps it's not Staring at the Sun that's mentioned, but just The Sun...

"There's an insect in my ear"

That line of Staring At the Sun Bono himself said was about tinnitus.

Of course he has it.

The equipment now(IEMS, ear protection for the rest of the band, etc) is obviously front of the line, but think of all the Boy and War songs pumped through those primitive speaker stacks back in the day!

I've worked security at concerts now for 5 years and can attest to the fact that U2 shows consistently stand out as very loud, even when stacked up against some harder rock acts.

So 30 years as one of the louder bands with a significant part of that coming when ear protection wasn't as advanced. All 4 of them probably struggle with T to some degree.

Not a pretty thing. My head was ringing and spinning after the NLOTH promo show in Somerville(500 seat 1900s theatre). I was right in front of the stacks on Edge's side and they blew all of the dust out of that place. Every time Larry hit a cymbal or a bass drum, my neck would pulse.

A few other shows I've worked, I've been careless w/ ear protection and paid the price. I was yelling at people to get the phone for days

Unless I'm seeing a band I really want to see, I always wear earplugs.

 

[corianderstem]

"There's an insect in my ear"

Isn't the line "there's an insect in YOUR ear"? Bono's telling you that YOU have tinnitus, not him!

It wouldn't surprise me to learn that any or all of the 4 of them have some level of tinnitus. To what degree, I don't know, but I suppose most people with even the worst cases learn to live with it.

Or not.

But U2 are still alive, so either they don't have it, they have mild cases, or they've just learned to live with it.

There is my totally unscientific comment.

 

[Galeongirl]

Isn't the line "there's an insect in YOUR ear"? Bono's telling you that YOU have tinnitus, not him!

She has a point there...

 

[Jive Turkey]

Isn't the line "there's an insect in YOUR ear"? Bono's telling you that YOU have tinnitus, not him!

He's clearly singing to Edge

 

[Jive Turkey]

I read that Pete Townsend's hearing difficulties weren't as a result of live concerts but more the result of using headphones in the studio.

I think his hearing problems are a direct result of Keith Moon blowing up his drum kit. I shit you not

 

[corianderstem]

I think his hearing problems are a direct result of Keith Moon blowing up his drum kit.

Man, that makes my ears hurt just thinking about it.

For the record, I totally get that Bono is talking abstract and he may very well be singing about himself. I don't recall the interview/quote where he addresses it, but that wouldn't surprise me.

I just couldn't pass up the obvious joke.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I don't think anyone is jumping all over anyone, I think some are just questioning why they're believing this source if they admit they know the members have never mentioned it.

It's more the tone of the responses, not the questioning itself

 

[Jive Turkey]

For the record, I totally get that Bono is talking abstract and he may very well be singing about himself. I don't recall the interview/quote where he addresses it, but that wouldn't surprise me.

I just couldn't pass up the obvious joke.

winky added to my post. I was kidding too

 

[BVS]

"There's an insect in my ear"

That line of Staring At the Sun Bono himself said was about tinnitus.

Of course he has it.

When did he say this?

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I've heard that Bono's favorite Shakespearean tragedy is Tinnitus Andronicus.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I've heard that Bono's favorite Shakespearean tragedy is Tinnitus Andronicus.

Boooooooo!

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Haha.

 

[PhilsFan]

Isn't the line "there's an insect in YOUR ear"? Bono's telling you that YOU have tinnitus, not him!

This is true. I listened to Staring at the Sun and got tinnitus. All because of that one line.

Damn you, Bono.

 

[corianderstem]

Bono is not only full of lies; he's apparently also full of witchcraft!