Hearing Loss

Evie Waddell is a Gaelic & Scots singer and fiddler hailing from Stirlingshire. As a deaf musician, Evie hopes to raise awareness of the many talented hard of hearing and d/Deaf musicians out there and weaves BSL seamlessly into her performances. Her visual EP "Cluich!" offers an immersive audio-visual experience with three distinct Gaelic songs connecting the d/Deaf comunity with Gaelic and Scottish identity and heritage. Evie joins Anna to talk about the EP and her experience as a deaf musician.

According to a study carried out by the Hearing Health Foundation (USA), musicians are four times more likely to develop noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) as the general public and 57% more likely to develop tinnitus. Another survey, by UK charity Help Musicians, found that 40% of professional musicians across a range of genres have experienced some type of hearing loss as a direct result of their work. Now an audiologist, fiddler and former Young Trad champion, Shona Mooney joins Anna to explore the issue of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss for musicians and live music lovers alike. Musician Seth Tinsley joins the discussion to share his experience of NIHL as a result of his work.