Dire Straits star opens up on hearing loss
AAP
January 8, 2014, 1:29 pm
Dire Straits rocker John Illsley has opened up about his hearing loss, revealing he struggles to dine out in restaurants playing music these days.
The bass player admits he can no longer listen to loud music and much of what he once enjoyed is now little more than noise.
Illsley is urging music industry boffins to look at the apparent increase in hearing troubles among people of his generation and younger, and turn the volume down.
Illsley, 64, told the BBC: "My son went to a club in London about seven or eight years ago and he had tinnitus for three years after it.
"I've noticed a lot more people my age and younger wearing hearing aids ... There's just a problem ... It really needs looking at."
Illsley isn't the only British rocker experiencing hearing problems - Noel Gallagher, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Phil Collins and The Who's Pete Townshend have also previously spoken out about their troubles.
He adds: "It's an occupational hazard ... It's difficult to play a gig quietly ... You just get damaged; it's one of those things ... It really needs looking at pretty seriously."
