BLACK EYED PEAS MEMBER SUFFERS FROM HEARING PROBLEM

[JumpinJack AJ]

Black Eyed Peas Member Suffers From Hearing Problem

Mega-producer, some-time rapper and Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am [pictured with his bandmates on the far right] often hears ringing in his ears, but it's not from the music he and his Grammy-award-winning band make.

Will.i.am suffers from tinnitus, or what's commonly called ringing in the ears. He's one of many musicians who has suffered from the condition. Eric Clapton, Moby and even Beethoven all suffered from tinnitus too.

"I don't know what silence sounds like any more," will.i.am told the British tabloid, The Sun. "Music is the only thing which eases my pain. I can't be still. Work calms me down. I can't be quiet as that's when I notice the ringing in my ears. There's always a beep there every day, all day. Like now. I don't know exactly how long I've had this but it's gradually got worse."

Dr. Maroun T. Semaan, associate director of otology, neurotology and balance disorders at University Hospitals, Case Medical Center in Ohio, says that there is no treatment for tinnitus, which can manifest as a hissing, ringing or buzzing sound.

"Tinnitus is either subjective or objective. Subjective is more common -- that's when the examiner can't hear what the patient is experiencing," he told AOL Health.

It's important to note that tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease in itself. "It's very common -- about 50 million people in the U.S. experience it," says Semaan. "Any ear disease can cause it. There could be hearing loss due to an infection or noise-induced hearing loss.

Semaan says there's a reason so many in the music industry suffer from the condition.

"Problems can occur when you listen to music at 85 to 90 decibels for a duration of eight hours [or more] and that can easily be achieved when you work in the music industry," he said.

And since there's no treatment for ringing in the ears prevention has to start early on.

"It's especially important because now teenagers are wearing iPods all day," he says. "It's hard to tell people to think about this when they aren't experiencing any problems, but there are things you can do to protect yourself.

"There are musician ear plugs that do not affect the quality of the sound or music. Avoid loud music for long durations. Take a break from listening or working for one to two hours," Semaan suggests.

A lot of people hear ringing but then it goes away (like after attending a rock concert) but some people experience a great deal of annoyance, and they will need help.

"There's temporary tinnitus, which goes away and chronic tinnitus which is irreversible. We see this a lot in veterans, especially older vets since the hearing protection was not that good [years ago]."

There are several things that will.i.am and other sufferers can do to find relief, says Semaan.

"There's avoidance of coffee and nicotine, since stimulants can aggravate the problem. Taking a multivitamin can help," he says. "There are stress management techniques using biofeedback that help people pay less attention to the noises they are hearing. We employ masking techniques, such as listening to the radio at a low volume or wearing a hearing aid."

So how can you know if you're at risk for tinnitus? Semaan has a simple rule you can follow when wearing headphones: "If the person sitting next to you can hear it, it's too loud. Keep it below 85-90 decibels. If you listen to music while exercising, take the headphones off when you're done and give your ears a break."

[VIsqo]

The hearing problem is probably a result of the crazy awful music they have been making lately. They have become a electronic-dance group instead of the innovating hip hop/modern group that we knew..

[VIsqo]

They sold more than Kanye this week though..

[Turntable]

The way I see it, Fergie made the Peas fall off hard (although I do not blame Fergie alone, after all she is just 1/4 of the group). Yet, without her they probably would have ended nowehere, because even though they made good music back then, they were just one of many, many independent Hip Hop groups that tried to fill the gap ATCQ left open. They most likely would now make small fetsival tours in Eastern Europe.

Edited December 14, 2010 by Turntable