Rock Guitarist Paul Gilbert Talks Hearing Loss, Hearing Aids & Staying Connected

Speaker 1: Welcome to This Week in Hearing. I’m Shari Eberts, and this week, our guest is Paul Gilbert, a prolific American heavy metal and hard rock guitarist who’s highly regarded as one of the best musicians of all time. So thank you for being here. He is widely known as the co-founder of Mr. Big with its chart-topping worldwide number one hit single, To Be With You, and is a member of Los Angeles-based band Racer X. His music career spans four decades and sadly has led to hearing loss from years of loud noise exposure from guitar amplifiers, and he’s now a Phonak ambassador hoping to spread awareness about hearing loss, break down stigmas, and shine a light on the importance of wearing hearing devices. So thank you, Paul, for being here to talk about your music and your hearing loss journey and to share everything that you’ve learned with our community.

Speaker 2: Thanks for having me here, and let’s have a good time.

Speaker 1: Absolutely. So every person with hearing loss has a story, right? So I was hoping you would share a little bit of yours. When did it start? How has it progressed?

Speaker 2: Well, when I think of hearing loss, you know, it was something that did happen gradually. I could hear much better when I was a kid, and it made it much easier to learn language, and I could have fairly normal existence, and I still remember all the things that I would blame on everyone else except me for things that were actually happening with my own what turned out to be hearing loss. And so the reason I like the idea that everyone has a story is that I think depending on where, what frequencies you’re missing or what frequencies you have a hard time hearing that really changes the experience of what you might struggle with and, of course, the extent that you, to which you’ve lost them. To me, the biggest challenge is language, and I wouldn’t have predicted that. You know, when I first, you know, went to an audiologist and had a hearing test and found out that I had significant hearing loss, my first thought was, “Oh, no, I’m a musician.” You know this is… I was only thinking about music.

Speaker 1: Right.

Speaker 2: It turns out that I can function musically much

Speaker 1: Mm-hmm and that… I mean,

Speaker 2: I’m music is relatively easy, you know, thank goodness. But speech is really the challenge, and so of course hearing aids are enormously helpful but also just being aware of the problem, and then, you know, when I, when I speak to the people, I let them know, and then they can be much more helpful. You know, basically in one sentence, if I just say, “Slowly and clearly and face toward me,” that solves 75% of everything. And, but that’s challenging for some people because not everybody’s, you know, they turn around or they whisper or they… So people have to, I have to train people.

Speaker 1: Absolutely, ’cause people don’t really understand hearing loss. So even if you say, “Well, you know what, I have hearing loss, I have trouble hearing you,” that might not be enough, right? You need to ask them to do specifically what it is that’s helpful to you, right? Like, “Slow down a little bit,” or, “Face me a little bit,” or, you know, give specific instructions, and then, like you said, it can really take you a long way.

Speaker 2: Yeah, it Some people adapt quite quickly and some people don’t, and I have to keep on ’em if I value communication. or at least two-way communication, ’cause I can talk all day and every, you know, hopefully it’s relatively normal. But it’s getting things back to me that’s, that can be the challenge.

Speaker 1: Yeah. And that’s the risk of hearing loss, right, is that you feel separated from other people because it does take a little bit more work to communicate, and so that work needs to come from both sides of the equation. And so hopefully people are important to, enough to you and you’re important enough to them, everyone makes that effort, and over time it just becomes a natural and easier way to communicate.

Speaker 2: Well, that’s also important when you… of, in terms of

Speaker 1: Yes.

Speaker 2: is there’s that decision, “Am I going to retreat or am I gonna do whatever it takes to connect?” And you know, ’cause it’s harder to connect, and so sometimes you’re tired or it’s it can be very tempting to give up. And there are still some situations where you weigh the options, like, “How much time do I have?” “How important is this transaction?” And, you know, at the grocery store, I’ve memorized the things now, but the like, you know, “Do you want a receipt?”

Speaker 1: Right.

Speaker 2: the first, the first time they asked that it took, you know… what? Say that again.” You know, “Can you write it?” You know, it took a long time to get it, and now I know they’re gonna ask it.

Speaker 1: Exactly.

Speaker 2: And so, you know, that’s the sort of thing that a person with hearing loss goes through, and if, and if it’s a familiar situation and you’ve done it before, then, “Okay, they’re, this, now’s the time they’re gonna ask me if I want a receipt and I already know the answer.” But if it’s a new situation, that can be, that can be really stressful because every little thing is hard and you know, it’s made easier with with hearing aids. It’s made easier with making people aware that you need some extra help. But, you know, easier isn’t 100% solution, and the way I look at that is nobody has limitless hearing powers…. or limitless anything. I mean, I, I play guitar and I’ve got big hands, and that’s helpful. I don’t have limitless hands though. They’re not, they’re, my fingers aren’t infinitely long. And so, you know, if I have students that have smaller hands or shorter fingers, I’ll tell them, you know, “So some things you may have to work harder for, or may have to figure out a plan B.” But it’s not like I’ve got limitless fingers that can just do anything. I’ve got, you know, I’ve got bigger hands, but I’ve got struggles too. There’s, there’s… Nobody can do everything. So, you know, it’s, it’s not That’s something that everybody faces.

Speaker 1: Yeah. And it’s not about making every situation perfect either, right? Because no communication situation’s gonna be perfect but it’s for optimizing it, right? Figuring out how do you take the skills that you have, the information you can share with somebody else, their effort. Putting that all together to try and draw, you know, the optimal communication situation. And hearing aids will help, but best practice communication will help. Other types of things factor into it as well.

Speaker 2: Yeah. I think… I, I waited a long time before getting hearing, hearing aids. And I even tried them once early on. I, I don’t remember what brand it was. I don’t… I think it, it wasn’t Phonak. But I, I gave up pretty quickly. And then it, it took, it, it took me until there was really no other choice, where the only person I could talk to was my wife ’cause I… You know, she had learned what I needed so well. But I was like… It was nice to have the option to, to have someone else to communicate with besides, you know, her translating everything for me. So, at that point, I got hearing aids and that really opened things up significantly and, and gave me a fighting chance to do a whole lot more and still. Every morning, the first thing I do when I get up is, is put them in and, “Okay, I’ve got a fighting chance now. This is great.”

Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Well, let’s step back a little bit because it’s not every day that I get to meet such a prolific musician especially one that, that has hearing loss. So, can you talk a little bit about what drew you to music in the first place and just a little bit about your love for music?

Speaker 2: Oh, my goodness. Well, my, my parents had a great record collection.

Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2: And I, and I loved… You know, I, I had favorites. I loved their Beatles albums and The, The Stones and The Who. And there was, there was great rock and roll on the radio. You know, I heard Led Zeppelin on the radio, and that was really exciting. So just, just hearing music and, and, and loving it as a as a fan. And my uncle was and still is a really good guitar player. And he, he lived in a different city so I didn’t see him that often. But when he would visit… You know, we had a guitar around the house, nobody knew how to play it. But my uncle would pick it up and magic would happen. You know, he You know, and I could, I could see, you know, somehow, he can get, he can get it to sound as good or better than the record. And so I would, I… Those were always magical moments that I, I think Some day I wanna do that.” Although, really, I… It… I didn’t really care what instrument it was. I thought if, if I can sing, if I can play piano, drums, whatever it is. And I ended up playing a little bit of all those instruments and I’d sing a bit. It just Guitar seemed to have the most momentum to it. You know, may, maybe physically or it’s easier to practice ’cause, you know, drums, you’re, you’re bothering people ’cause it’s loud. As, a singer, I didn’t have the high range that, that most rock singers have. So just for various reasons, guitar just… I I made quick progress.

Speaker 1: Well, I mean, and you just said, you know, you have big hands so maybe that was helpful as well, just in terms of physically being able to do whatever it is that you needed to do.

Speaker 2: I think it helped being a rock guitar player with, with a blues influence because as I’ve… I’ve done a lot of teaching now. I have an online school. So I want, I, I get to see so many students and, and watch their hand positions. And I, I remember as, a as a kid, thinking that classical guitar was probably the most difficult. But it’s, it’s just… It’s a different animal. and actually, I think people with smaller hands often can play classical guitar very easily because the, the, the hand position is different. It allows them to reach the, the… You know, reach all the way around. Well, if, if you watch the, the, you know, the legends of rock guitar, Jimi Hendrix, Brian May, you know, just, just about anybody from that … ’60s, 70, ’70s era. You know, it’s people with big hands. Their thumb’s hanging way over, you know. They’re grabbing the whole neck. It’s not just like, you know, reaching this way. So they can reach their thumb over and reach their fingers. And I’ve got a big poster of Jimi Hendrix where, you know, his thumb’s

Speaker 1: Right.

Speaker 2: … and, and that to me has become one, one of the biggest missions is, is to get people to get their thumb over and also dealing with the fact that people with smaller hands might, might struggle with that and what, what the plan B is.

Speaker 1: Fascinating. I love that. I played a little guitar when I was in you know, in grade school or whatever. But we never got into that level of with specificity or anything. It was never a serious play or just a little bit of fun.

Speaker 2: Well, fun, any amount of fun is, is, is the best. That’s the goal.

Speaker 1: Absolutely. So when I think about music and I think about hearing, I feel like good hearing would be really important in terms of being able to compose and play music. Now you said at the beginning that you had less of an, an issue with music. But do you feel like it’s impacted your music career at all or, or not so much?

Speaker 2: It’s, it’s changed the way as a, as a listener, it’s changed what I focus on. Because as a as a kid when, when my hearing was pretty good, I would really enjoy the texture of music, you know. Just, just the, just the sound of, of a voice or, or of, or of a guitar or, or of cymbals would, would be really appealing to me. And and sometimes I, I would listen to music just for the texture. It’s so nice. I found as time went on, I was less interested in the texture because it was harder for me to hear it and I became more interested in, in the melodies and, and the, the the harmony behind it and, and the rhythms. So the, it was more the, the the bones of the music.

Speaker 1: Right. Right. No, that makes a lot of sense. So when you’re playing today, when you’re performing, do you let all the other musicians know about your hearing loss and, you know, how do they react to that? And are there, there ways that they can help you or, you know, how do you make that work?

Speaker 2: Well, I the, the first person I’ll talk to is the drummer.

Speaker 1: Okay.

Speaker 2: Because the, the drummer has a drum set that has a lot of different sounds. Some of those sounds I hear very easily. You know, the, the kick drum, no problem. You know, the snare drum, it’s very percussive, no problem. Cymbals, that’s a problem. So, so I’ll, I’ll tell the drummer, “As long as the kick drum and the snare are going, I’m gonna be locked in, you know, no problem.” So if, if that stops and there’s a section of the song where you’re keeping time with only high hat or the cymbals, I’m gonna have to turn around and look. And if I can’t ’cause I’m singing, then my apologies, you’re going to have to follow me.

Speaker 1: Wow.

Speaker 2: So there’s, there’s a Mr. Big song that, where that’s, that happens a lot. It’s called Green Tinted ’60s Mind and it’s got this guitar intro where it’s just guitar and high hat. So it’s, you know, it’s, … That’s where the, the, the troubles is bound to happen.

Speaker 1: Okay.

Speaker 2: And, and I always tell the drummer, “In, in those sections, just listen to me. I, I’m, I apologize if I speed up or slow down. But even if I’m wrong, I’m right. You know, you have to, you, you you have to follow me there.” And fortunately I’m you know, I, I … My my meter tends to be pretty good so the drummer doesn’t get too angry and you know, there’s been no arguments. Everybody’s all right.

Speaker 1: Good. Good. I mean, do you ever think about like getting a rear view mirror or something so you can kind of glance behind you?

Speaker 2: I’ve, I’ve tried all kinds of things. I, I tried having a video camera and a, and a TV monitor.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: It’s you know, the, the best thing is having the conversation and, and if I’m not singing, I turn around and look.

Speaker 1: No, I love that. I love how open you are about your hearing loss and, and sort of being out here as an ambassador to, to talk about that. I know when I first discovered mine, I was very stigmatized by it and it was really hard for me to sort of overcome that so that I could tell people about it and start to advocate for myself. But did you feel that way ever about your hearing loss, that stigma or you know, if, and if you did, how’d you handle that?

Speaker 2: I, I think when I first had hearing aids, I was, I was worried that everyone would see them.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: even though they really were pretty well hidden, you know, the, the, you know, the main microphone part is behind the ear. The other part’s inside the ear. All there is a tiny little clear wire. And but I was really self-conscious about it. Of course, no one noticed. But I, but I, but I found myself for the first week or two, I would, I would point it out to people. I would say like, “You may have noticed there’s this.” And ’cause I didn’t want them to, I don’t know, make up their own story about it. You know, and so I’d, I would just sort of announce it beforehand like, “You know, if in case you’re wondering.” And then I started to realize no one knows or cares. They, just, if, they just wanna get to whatever it is. Let’s get down to business. You know, let’s, let’s play, let’s talk. You know, it’s, so they you know, it, it wasn’t … it was, it was much more something that was going on in my head and when I realized that everybody was fine, I, I forgot about it and I’d, I don’t really, I, I certainly don’t mention the hearing aids. If, if anything, actually once in a while I’ll pull one out and show people if, to really let them know, you know, I, I really do need help. You know, especially if it’s like, you know, you’re at like passport control.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: You know, some, some, something that’s like, you know, so heavy stakes, like you know, getting into the country or not. You know, and, and the, and the, and the person’s, you know … the passport control and, and it’s a foreign language, international flight, and the person’s questioning you and they’re getting mad at you because they’ve, you know, “How many days have you been outside the country?” And you, you didn’t quite hear it and, and you’re like, “I’m really sorry. I’ll, I’ll take it out and show them.” Just to say like, you know, “I’m not making this up.”

Speaker 1: I love that. I, I, think that’s a good strategy actually because sometimes you say, “Oh, well, I can’t hear very well,” and people just discount it, right? But if you sort of show them the hearing aid maybe they’ll take it a little bit more seriously, so.

Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, you know, if, if you break your leg and you’ve got crutches, people will open the door for you. But you know, it’s, it’s, it’s not a… They don’t really they won’t see the hearing aid. And then… And sometimes they, they don’t, you know, they don’t really know what’s… They don’t… A lot of times, people don’t understand that, that slowing down and speaking clearly is more effective than speaking loudly.

Speaker 1: Absolutely.

Speaker 2: Because loud, loud is just sort of like, “Ouch.” You know, ’cause we’ve already got hearing aids, so it’s, it’s that much louder.

Speaker 1: Well, I think… And a lot of time-… That’s totally great thing to say, and I think we do have to explain that to people. Because also if you’re shouting, your whole mouth looks different and your face looks different. So it’s hard to do speech reading, right, which we all do a little bit naturally anyway. So you’re getting sort of mixed messages if someone is speaking super loudly versus slowing it down a little bit. And just that clarity is really what we’re looking for.

Speaker 2: .

Speaker 1: Even more so than the volume, right? It has to be a certain volume.

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Speaker 1: But once it hits that certain volume, it’s really sort of that clarity that can make all the difference.

Speaker 2: It, it’s, it’s funny because being in the entertainment industry, I do deal with people that are professional public speakers. Or, or they’re singers, or they’re broadcasters, and my hearing loss disappears. I’ll think

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: “Well, this person is so easy to understand.” That’s because they’re, they’re broadcasting. They’re, they’re used to speaking in front of you know, hundreds of people or on television or radio, and they’re professional communicators. But not everyone is. And it you know, it, it’s a good skill.

Speaker 1: It is. It is a good skill. Some people say, you know, it’s a lost skill, right? But it’s something that, you know, when, when you have hearing loss, it’s really important to seek out those people who can still use those communication skills. Mm-hmm. And then also know what they are so that you can ask people to, to try and do that and then model it yourself so that you know, they, they’re not doing all the work. Everybody is contributing to the, to the conversation.

Speaker 2: Yeah. I, I remember one of the funniest sort of unfortunate combinations. I was doing a, a guitar camp. A lot of people were there. And one guy showed up. He was actually a, student of mine in my online school, so I had a lot of experience teaching him, but he had never… we, we’d teach via pre-recorded videos. So a lot of times, no speech is necessary. You know, if he just plays the, plays the assignment, I don’t need any talking. So this was the first time I’d met him in person and the first time I’d heard him speak. Turns out he has a stutter.

Speaker 1: Oh, wow.

Speaker 2: And, you know, it, it’s it’s really kind of funny combination because, you know, he has a really hard time getting something out. I have a hard time hearing it was, it sort of a and finally he got the thing out, and I went, “I’m sorry. Could you say that again?”

Speaker 1: Oh my gosh.

Speaker 2: We both fell on the ground laughing. It was just like, well… This is this is funny, you know. The

Speaker 1: Well, I mean, it… And a lot of it’s sort of the attitude that you take about it, right? Because, like, hearing loss can be very funny. And sometimes, like, if you’re just so worried about it or just so self-conscious about it and you don’t allow that to sort of like… These mishaps or these

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Speaker 1: … to be funny, you know?

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Speaker 1: We can internalize that and,

Speaker 2: Yeah. It, it’s funny unless you’re trying to get through customs in, in Germany and you

Speaker 1: Oh, right. For anything hearing aid.

Speaker 2: … after a long flight.

Speaker 1: That’s right. But I think if we can have sort of a more relaxed attitude about it, other people do as well. So, you … that’s an important part, I think, of, of self-advocacy. So I wanted to ask you, because a lot of my friends with hearing loss, they, they might love music, but they tell me that they have a hard time enjoying it or continuing to enjoy it in the same way that they did. So how did you sort of adapt to that? Did you find the right devices for you or what other tricks do you use or advice do you have so people can continue to enjoy music even with hearing loss?

Speaker 2: Oh, a bunch of things. Well, initially when you get hearing aids for the first time, your audiologist will tell you it’s going to take some time to, to get used to them. It’s different. And the, the, the same thing was true with listening to music. I put them in, I was like, “Oh, this is different. I don’t know.” And so there, there’s just, you kind of have to have faith. And, and, and my my first audiologist was great because he, he said, he said, “You need a lot of volume from your hearing aids ’cause that’s, that’s what you need for speech.” And he, he said, “I’m not gonna give you all that in, in one, in one mighty swoop because it, it’s gonna be too… You’re not… It’s gonna be too, you know, too difficult to get used to-”

Speaker 1: Overwhelming?

Speaker 2: just at once.” So he said, “I’m gonna give you about half what you need. Spend about a week with that and then come back in, and I’ll give you the other half.” And I… that worked out so well. And that was why… So, you know, if, if you’re… People out there, if you’re considering seeing an audiologist, if if they don’t recommend, ask them about it because to, to me, that, that made, really made a big difference, you know, gradually getting, getting used to it. And once I did that, that was… The hearing aids really made it easier ’cause I could suddenly, I could hear a lot of the high-end stuff that, that had been missing. Besides that, I, I think different styles of production in recorded music are make a difference. I, I tend to listen to much more sparse production. So if, it’s an old blues recording and it’s just an acoustic guitar and a singer, that, that sounds pretty good. But if it’s a, you know, late ’80s production where there’s reverb on everything and a ton of overdubs and it’s this dense, you know, really densely and compressed modern recording, that can, that can turn into mush, you know, much more easily.

Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2: So, you know, check out who, who’s Big Bill Broonzy, you know, who’s a You know, Eric Clapton’s favorite old, old blues singer who, you know, stomps on the ground, plays acoustic guitar, and sings. And that, that, that’s wonderful stuff. I found with, with classical music, I, I tend… I love the oboe because it’s got a nice clear midrange sound, where I’m, I’m much more likely to listen to that than violin. So I sort of choose my instruments wisely.

Speaker 1: Oh, wisely. Yeah, interesting.

Speaker 2: Yeah. And, and piano, I know when, when… my wife plays piano, and as soon as she gets up into the top quarter, I’m like, “Ouch.” You So, you know, if I listen to piano, I like, like it to be in the lower register. And even with, with my own playing, I, I found if I start getting up high, I’m like, “No, no, no, don’t go up there.”

Speaker 1: No, that’s smart. So I mean, just having that understanding, even of your own hearing loss, right? I’m like, “What’s gonna sound normal or better? What’s gonna sound worse?” can help you sort of navigate that, right? And make good choices so that you can have that enjoyment of music. Maybe not every piece of it, but make the choices so that you can enjoy what you’re hearing.

Speaker 2: Yeah. One, one other thing, and this is sort of, you know, takes some doing, but it really is effective. I have… I don’t know if you can see them, but I’ve got these acoustic panels all over my studio.

Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2: They you know, there, there’s, there’s a company called G… I mean, a lot of companies make them, but like, I like a company called GIK because they’re, they’re relatively inexpensive and they’re the same material as the expensive. The expensive ones are just the corners are, are slicker.

Speaker 1: Okay.

Speaker 2: But, but the functionality, the GIK ones are fine. They’re, they’re four feet by two feet. You hang them on the wall like a, like a picture frame. And don’t, don’t worry about, you know, “Oh, I’ve got to have it exactly here with some equation.” Just put them everywhere, you know? And, and it makes a huge difference. It’s, it’s funny doing doing podcasts like this, I can always tell when the person I’m talking to is with an is in an untreated room because their voice is much more difficult to hear because of the reflections, the acoustic reflections inside the room. It’s an echoey room and the and the reverb’s not friendly. And my room is dead. I mean, you clap and it’s just nothing. There’s no reflections. And, and especially since I’m always recording music and playing music, this is like audio heaven. You know, it, it, it… I, I just love it. And so… And of, of course, you know, one way when, if you go to an audiologist for a hearing test, as soon as you go in that booth, that’s a really radical version of that where it’s just, it’s just really acoustically dead. It’s a little… I mean, I don’t have it that dead, so.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: But a little bit in that direction is really helpful.

Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, I wish like restaurants would have them and public

Speaker 2: Oh.

Speaker 1: have them. I mean, wouldn’t that just solve so many problems? Not just for people with hearing loss. For everyone, right?

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Speaker 1: I think everyone would, would find that to be beneficial. So note to the include that upfront in any new buildings, restaurants, and things like that, so.

Speaker 2: Absolutely.

Speaker 1: Yeah. So I guess you are a Phonak ambassador now. So can you talk a little bit about what got you started with that and, and what’s your, what’s your goal for being an ambassador?

Speaker 2: Well, I think my, my first connection to Phonak was, was two things. One was I had, I had done a tour… Mr. Big was the support band for Bryan Adams for a while. And he’s a a supporter of, of hearing health and, and awareness, and he was connected with Phonak. So he got me in touch with someone there. And I think at that same time Sterling Ball, who’s the, at the time was the head of the Ernie Ball company that makes guitar strings and that I endorse. He has hearing loss. He found out that I did too, and he had already he already got Phonak hearing aids. And he, he called me up and he’s, he’s one of those powerful managerial types. Super nice guy. love him. But he’s like, “Paul, you gotta get these. They changed my life.” And when, you know, when, when Sterling Ball’s yelling at you, you listen. and so I thought, “Okay, well, well, Sterling said I should do it.” He’s, he’s smart and powerful and, and suddenly I, I had this connection to the company that, that he recommended. So this is great. This is perfect. So I, I was able to get a set to try. Loved them. And and sort of just kept in touch with the company over the years. And then more, you know, the my, the people that I was connecting with changed. And, and finally, you know, the, the more most recent team of people asked me to be an, an ambassador. And I, I didn’t know. I’ve been endorsed musical companies before. You know, I certainly, I’ve been working with Ibanez guitars for decades and Ernie Ball, the string company, DiMarzio pick. I mean, there’s a long list. So this is really my, my I… Well, maybe the one non-musical company I endorsed was, was Makita drills. We used to

Speaker 1: Oh.

Speaker 2: We used to play guitar with drills.

Speaker 1: Interesting.

Speaker 2: And so Phonak is my, is my other… Well, in a way, I was gonna say non-musical, but really in a way it’s ultra musical ’cause music is about hearing. So you know, I, I’m honored to add them to the list and, and it hopefully helps some people who and that, that’s one thing. Back to the, you know, everyone’s journey. The, of the people that I know that have hearing loss, which of course a lot of rock musicians do, I don’t know anyone who’s worse than me.

Speaker 1: Huh.

Speaker 2: Like, like I have the, I have the most severe hearing loss of any musician I’ve, I’ve met.

Speaker 1: Wow.

Speaker 2: And so the thing with hearing aids is, you know, if, if you have… If, if you’re better off than me, they’re gonna help you even more. So I always think, you know, you don’t have… Like, I waited until there was no, no other choice. But I wish that I would’ve started earlier because it, it would’ve just, would’ve made life easier along the whole path.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: So even if, even if you don’t necessarily… If you’ve gotten to that point where it’s like, I have, I have to do it, there’s no other way, look into it ’cause you’ll… You, you know, life will get easier and better.

Speaker 1: I love that. Well, as we’re sort of wrapping up here, I don’t know if there’s just any other final pieces of advice you have for other musicians with hearing loss or just in general people with hearing loss. I would love to hear sort of your final thoughts.

Speaker 2: Well, of, of course, you know, when… If, if you’re at the… In the audience seeing a loud musical performance or if you’re a musician, you know, there’s different kinds of hearing protection, you know. I mean, if you, if you just get a pair of foam earplugs just to get you through the night, do it. You know, there’s… I’ve used those a lot.

Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2: but if, if you go to your audiologist, they can make you a set of custom custom molds and, and make those into, into earplugs. And there, there’s… There are varying degrees of how much they’ll cut out, you know. So, so I’ve, I’ve got all kinds of sets of those. And, and I, I really… For me, I really prefer those to the in-ear monitors ’cause the in-ear monitors, it’s not like wearing… I mean, they might block out some stage noise, but for me, not that well. They actually… Sometimes the seal doesn’t seal as it would. So I, I just tend to, you know, just protect and then what I need will get in. I could still feel that kick drum, so it’s all right.

Speaker 1: Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Paul, for being on our podcast today, sharing your experiences, and I just really enjoyed it and I wish you continued success in your music and with your hearing loss journey.

Speaker 2: Fantastic. Thank you so much too. And have, have a great rest of the day.

Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. And if you want to learn more about you I guess visit paulgilbert.com.

Speaker 2: That and my, my Instagram. I think it’s Paul_… There’s an underscore in there somewhere. It’s paulgilbertofficial. I can’t remember where the underscore is.

Speaker 1: All right. Well, we’ll stick it up on the screen.

Speaker 2: Type in my name on Instagram, it’ll come up.

Speaker 1: Outstanding. Thank you so much, Paul.

Speaker 2: Thank you. All right. Bye-bye.