Rock legend Pete Townshend, getting ready to go back on the road with The Who later this year, is warning MP3 enthusiasts that listening to rock music through earphones could make them deaf.
”I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal components deaf,” the 60-year-old guitarist said in a diary entry on his website (www.petetownshend.co.uk).
”Hearing loss is a terrible thing because it cannot be repaired. If you use an iPod or anything like it, or your child uses one, you MAY be okay … But my intuition tells me there is terrible trouble ahead.”
The Who, which helped write the history of British rock ‘n’ roll with such classics as My Generation and Pinball Wizard, are remembered for their ear-splitting concerts.
Looking back, however, Townshend — who suffers from hearing loss — said: ”My own particular kind of damage was caused by using earphones in the recording studio, not playing loud on stage … Earphones do the most damage.”
Townsend revealed on his website on Christmas Eve that The Who will go on tour sometime after June, and that he is composing new songs for the band — although he confessed that being hard of hearing makes songwriting difficult. – AFP
