Composer Richard Einhorn writes about his sudden hearing loss and how, with his clever uses of existing technology, he continues to work and live well with hearing loss. Richard Einhorn Composing and Living to the Hilt after No Compromise Hearing Loss I love sound, all sounds—loud sounds, fairly straightforward devices, I can hear hearing loss has not been permitted to soft sounds, sad sounds, beautiful reasonably well (but not perfectly) in very seriously harm my life. sounds, funny sounds, glorious sounds. nearly every situation I encounter in Although I certainly don’t enjoy I experience the world primarily through my life, from meals with my family and having a hearing loss—and I know I’m my ears, not through my eyes. Ever since friends to rehearsals and performances not alone—I did enjoy piecing together I was 15 when I realized that I was a of orchestral concerts of my music. my hearing assistance kit and find it composer, I have spent nearly every day Obviously, everyone’s hearing loss invaluable both in my musical and of my life trying to find ways to hear is different, and obviously, everyone isn’t personal life. The first question that better, working hard to continue to train that comfortable with modern technol- came to my mind was: my hearing and to keep up with the ogy. That said, there is one thing I can After my hearing loss, could I still amazing audio technology of our time. say for certain: compose music? Forty-two years later, when I sud- It is vitally important that people I quickly learned that the answer denly lost most of my hearing, and after with hearing loss stop trying to hide their was yes. I recovered from the shock, I applied hearing loss. There is absolutely nothing my love of sound plus my lifetime to be gained by doing so, and so much Figuring Out My Hearing Loss involvement with pro audio to the to lose. Hearing losses are always complicated. incredibly difficult communication I have met no one, including some Before I could work to improve my problems caused by my serious hearing of the best musicians and most competi- hearing, I first had to understand what loss. True, my hearing is damaged, tive executives I’ve worked with, who I was hearing. I began by reviewing but I certainly haven’t lost the ability cared a whit that I was obviously using my history: to analyze, understand, and improve hearing assistance to listen to a rehearsal On June 15, 2010—one of the what I am still able to hear. or to participate in a meeting. Besides, worst days of my life—I woke up to I’m still learning a lot, but I’ve after my sudden hearing loss, it was so find that my right ear had gone com- Richard at work at the come up with some techniques and obvious that I couldn’t hear properly pletely deaf, with virtually no warning Peabody Conservatory Dyer © Cindy devices that work extremely well for that I realized I couldn’t go stealth even at all. This is a condition called Idio- of Music with vocalists me. None of them is perfect, but I’ve if I wanted to. Because my hearing pathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Stephen Campbell, found that by keeping my expectations assistance—which I don't try to hide— Loss. It’s considered a medical emer- Phoenix, AZ; Rachel reasonable; by continuing to experiment makes it relatively easy for me to par- gency, doctors treat it with steroids, and Grider, Modesto, CA; and practice; and by piecing together ticipate as actively as ever at meetings, if you’re lucky, your hearing might come and Nola Richardson, a hearing assistance “kit” with a few dinners, and concerts, my very serious continued on page 12 Sydney, Australia 10 HearingHearing Loss Loss Magazine Magazine May/June 2012 11 No Compromise from page 10 It is vitally important that well as lower sounds. I could still hear also realized that a sealed, in-ear design invisible. There was very little truly my life was never an option, I would just people with hearing loss far below and—crucially—far above delivered by far the best sound for me. detailed information about how hearing have to develop ways to hear better in back over the course of two anxious “ every note on a piano keyboard. As I Since I wanted to hear as well as I aids processed sound (but plenty of public. I chose to concentrate on restau- weeks. I wasn’t lucky. stop trying to hide their knew many people with hearing loss possibly could, I researched high-end vague assurances that hearing aid X had rants first. However, during those two weeks, I hearing problems. There is who couldn’t hear the top range of the earphones. I raided my bank account the best sound). This seemed backwards: My long experience as a recording started to notice tiny scratching sounds absolutely nothing to be piano at all, I counted myself extremely and bought an “in-ear monitor” for all I wanted to do was to hear well! I engineer and producer told me that in in my right ear whenever anyone spoke fortunate. my left ear. It was manufactured by a gained by doing so, and couldn’t have cared less about the style, a noisy environment like a restaurant, to me in a voice louder than a whisper. Now, what would I have to do to company that caters to top rock stars. let alone the color. a microphone that is even just two These scratchy noises became louder so much to lose. hear better? What kind of gadgets would It was not cheap and required that I go and louder until they were absolutely I need? From my long experience work- to an audiologist for a custom-fitted I raided my bank account and bought an “in-ear monitor” for my unbearable. When I listened to speech would dare to operate on my” only hear- ing in sound, I knew immediately that ear tip. A few weeks later, an elegant left ear. It was manufactured by a company that caters to top with my right ear, it sounded like I was ing ear. one solution would not fit all. I would case arrived with a stunningly beautiful “rock stars.… I figured I’d write a short piece of music to test it listening to an infuriatingly-loud robot I studied my audiograms and, while need multiple techniques, multiple earpiece. I plugged it in and was totally out.… Using my amazing earphone, it was no harder for me to from a bad 1950s sci-fi film. Speech useful, I’ve found that my own ability devices. amazed; even through my damaged left write with a hearing loss than it had been when my ears were was utterly incomprehensible in my to hear is the best judge of what my ears ear, I knew I was listening to perhaps right ear. are doing. Emotionally, it was heart- The Composer Analyzes Sound the single best piece of audio equipment normal. A few months later, the new piece premiered in New This problem—inability to hear wrenching to listen coldly and clinically Composing has always been a central I ever owned. York. It was an unusual kind of string quartet, and it was a huge speech, excessive volume, and extreme to what my damaged ears were produc- part of my life; it is the means by which I figured I’d write a short piece of hit. Problem solved. Not only can I compose now, I’m composing distortion—is called “recruitment” or ing—I used to hear so well!— but I I orient myself to the world and express music to test it out. Instead, I just wrote as well as ever. “hyperacusis” and I developed a very shoved aside my sense of being treated my deepest thoughts and feelings. I’ve and wrote and wrote. Using my amaz- severe case of it. I started wearing an terribly unfairly by life and just listened, always used whatever current technol- ing earphone, it was no harder for me Since I couldn’t easily” find much feet away from another person’s voice earplug in my right ear whenever I and then listened some more. Then I ogy I could find to help me write. Like to write with a hearing loss than it had objective, unbiased information on might pick up so much background ventured outside my apartment. tried to understand, on my own terms, many music composers, I rarely use a been when my ears were normal. A few sound quality, I shopped instead for fea- noise as to significantly blur speech. With my right ear worse than being what was going on. Here, oversimpli- piano but work instead on computers months later, the new piece premiered tures. Finally, I met with my audiologist The mic in a hearing aid may be even deaf, I was now dependent solely on my fied, was what I was dealing with: and digital simulations of musical instru- in New York. It was an unusual kind of and bought a hearing aid that offered farther away from a speaker’s mouth— left ear in order to hear the world. My right ear was totally dead, ments. I then copy the music out—on string quartet, and it was a huge hit. Bluetooth connectivity to a variety of four feet or more, sometimes, depending Unfortunately, my left ear already worthless, there was no usable sound.