Tommy Can You Hear Me?
January 9, 2006Aw, Pete, don't ruin it for me. The little bit of joy I got over the holidays came from my husband's kind gift of a new iPod. After placing it into its "force field of protection", uploading my CDs to it and slipping it into its own cute, little sock, I happily went about listening to my new Iron & Wine and Guster CDs. In my bed, I lie in the darkness and feel the music become one with the night. I have only want of the stars above me to complete my delirious, child-like happiness.
Then, one day recently, I read an article online entitled "Headphones deafen you, Who star tells iPod fans". What? This can't be true. Pete, tell me it ain't so. Well, being the curious type, I went to the source and read the actual diary entry on Pete's site. Obviously, the diary entry was more fluid than the news article and I felt like I could give Pete back a little credit for being an intelligent human being. I am still not convinced that I should throw my iPod and it's little earphones to the wind.
I am a married woman homeschooling two rapidly growing children. The thirty-six hour breaks I take from my iPod are not self-imposed. They are called running a home and staying connected to my family. I was out in the kitchen the other day and thought maybe I would listen to my iPod while cleaning up a bit. Once I got the dishwasher and the washing machine going, though, I found I couldn't really hear the music anymore. Being the sensible sort, I put my iPod away for quieter moments. This is why you may find me lying awake in my bed pretending there are stars above me and listening to old bluegrass hymns in the middle of the night. It is also why I have to pretend my husband isn't snoring rather loudly beside me.
There are a lot of things that come to mind while reading Pete's diary, but I think I would be stating the obvious. This one quote had me thinking, though.
I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal proponents deaf. It takes time, but it happens. This is, I suppose, no worse than being a sports person or dancer who knows they have a limited working span, and their body will suffer. The rewards are great - money, fame, adulation and a real sense of self-worth and achievement. But music is a calling for life. You can write it when you're deaf, but you can't hear it or perform it.
I could pick it apart, but I won't. I have only one thing to say. If anything in your life becomes more important than the one thing that can truly complete you, you are always at risk of losing everything you have. If, however, you have God in your life, you can lose everything and still have exactly what you need.
On a side note, what exactly is that dangling from Pete's ear in this photo? Tommy... Tommy... Tommy?
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Comments:
Headphones don't deafen people, people deafen people. While Pete may have a point, it's worth noting that he's not the only aging Sixties rocker who has used headphones a lot, and as far as I know not all of them have hearing problems.
I use headphones a lot, and for the same purpose Pete does: for studio recording of music. And I am conscious of the fact that if I'm not careful, I could do harm to my hearing. But not everything has to be loud; and of course, music is not my full-time job, so I'll never be in danger of the kind of overuse Pete talks about.
I'd also point out that while iPods are relatively new, portable stereos and headphones are not. The Walkman came out in 1979, and I am not aware of any epidemic of deafness among those of us who were early adopters.
So Pete's right, you can screw up your ears if you abuse headphones; but I don't think the iPod represents any particular danger in that respect.
Posted by: Bob at January 9, 2006 2:56 PM
Also, I'm not to sure it was headphones that did the damage to him... the Who had the dubious honor of being the "Loudest Rock Band". Standing on stage in FRONT of those giant VOX amps might have had something to do with it.
I will say, however, that tinnitus is nothing to laugh at. It was one of the side-effects of the Zyban I took to quite smoking... which is the main reason I stopped taking the medication. (That, and the fact that it only made you "forget" about smoking. I wanted to quit, but not forget my own name.)
Posted by: Kyle 凯尔 at January 10, 2006 3:26 PM
I just have to say it again...I love your blog. :-)
Posted by: thicket dweller at January 10, 2006 5:34 PM
Very good reading. Peace until next time.
Posted by: WaltDe at August 31, 2006 8:40 PM
WaltDe
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