Emmer wants more research into tinnitus

This week Emmer announced that he suffers from tinnitus.

“Among musicians, composers, and artists, it is a taboo. Yet I estimate that as many as a third of an average orchestra, including top orchestras, suffers from it,” says Stephen Emmer.

Tinnitus

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, means that you hear a continuous sound in your head. It can have various causes, including exposure to loud noise, for example, at a concert, or a cold. It can also vary in severity, says Emmer. “From a jet engine to a faint buzz.” Tinnitus can lead to severe hearing loss.

Emmer notes that musicians with tinnitus do not talk about it for fear of losing their jobs. “They do not dare report it to the conductor or management.” Yet tinnitus does not necessarily mean that you make music less well, Emmer observes. “I feel that I produced my better work after the condition. I have also received awards for it.”

Pharmaceutical industry

Emmer is coming forward now because he wants to unite artists and thereby ensure that a cure is sought. According to him, the pharmaceutical industry claims that not enough people suffer from it to develop medicines. “While a quarter to half of young people are at risk. That statement by the pharmaceutical industry is outdated.”

Shouldn't the sound just be softer? There have long been calls for lower volumes in places like nightclubs and at festivals, but also on earbuds or headphones. That is one of the steps, Emmer believes: “That discussion about loud sound is currently stalled. People in the music industry claim that you have to feel the music. That is a fallacy. As a professional, I can tell you that you can still feel it even when the volume is softer. That is why I want to unite artists to say for themselves: this is how it is.”

Buma/Stemra is backing composer Emmer. The music copyright advocacy group has 38,000 members, all music makers. Buma/Stemra believes that there are certainly people among them who suffer from hearing problems and tinnitus, and who do not dare to speak out.

[Broadcast Magazine - Editorial]

Sign the Artists Against Tinnitus petition here