[The views expressed in this blog are from my personal experiences from 25 years of leading non-auditioned community choirs in the UK, as well as adult singing workshops. My focus is on teaching by ear using a repertoire of songs from traditions across the globe. Your experiences may differ from mine, so do feel free to leave a comment and let's begin a conversation! A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]
Last week there was a guest post about what choir leaders can do to help singers who have hearing loss.
This week I want to look at steps you can take yourself if you’re a singer who is experiencing hearing loss.
If you have any suspicion that you might be experiencing hearing loss there are two vital things that you must do:
Until you do both of these, there is no way that you can be helped.
Time after time I have tried to help singers who have pitching problems only to find that they have a certain amount of hearing loss.
I once had a young man in my choir who I tried to help by singing loudly into his ear for a whole term before he told me he was deaf in that ear!
Another guy would sing out loud and proud (but out of tune), putting everyone around him off. He was enjoying himself, but spoiling the enjoyment of others. I had a private word with him and it turned out that he was finding it more and more difficult to hear the other singers.
In both cases there was an easy fix. In the first case I simply sang in the young man’s other ear. In the second case the chap went to his GP and found out that his ears needed syringing.
It can be embarrassing to admit that you have a hearing loss. Sometimes even to yourself. It’s not easy to come to terms with something that might gradually get worse and eventually destroy your pleasure of singing. But if you don’t acknowledge that you have a problem, there is no way you can find a solution.
Last week Bettina Gellinek Turner outlined some great ideas for how your choir leader can help when you have hearing loss. But if your choir leader doesn’t know about your hearing loss, they can’t put those ideas into practice!
People can only be supportive if they know you have a difficulty. You can have a word in private with your choir leader and nobody else need know. But it might be even more beneficial if you at least let others in your section know so they can be sensitive to any difficulties you might have.
Even if your choir leader is aware of any hearing difficulties you might have, you also have responsibilities as a singer. There are plenty of things you can do to help yourself.
If you love to sing and you develop hearing loss it can be devastating. It will take time to adjust, but there may come a day when you have to let singing go – at least singing in a choir. Try not to define your life by just one thing and find other, alternative creative outlets. You might be surprised at what you find!
I provide this content free of charge, because I like to be helpful. If you have found it useful, you may like to to say thank you.
Chris Rowbury
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