Woodstock Remembered: Oticon and Stephan Stills Rock On

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Woodstock recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. Time sure has passed quickly since the days of Crosby, Stills and Nash during the Woodstock days - known for their incredibly intricate harmonies - three voices synching up as one.

Even though Crosby, Stills and Nash are still playing together, there have been some changes. Oh, the songs are still poignant and the harmonies just as tight, but hearing loss has affected one of the members to the point he is now a proud hearing aid wearer.

Stills, who often fronts the group, has had diagnosed hearing loss since he was a kid growing up in Louisiana. "My hearing loss was first spotted when I was nine years old," Stills is quoted in a press release from hearing aid manufacturer, Oticon. "This was in 1954 when the little truck came to the school to give the kids physicals. The doctor noticed a hearing loss in my right ear and told my parents to ‘keep an eye on it'."

Back then, hearing loss wasn't considered the serious, learning problem it is today and children weren't usually fit with hearing aids unless the problem was extreme. In the case of 9-year-old Stephan Stills, the problem wasn't considered extreme enough to warrant further testing or the use of a hearing aid.

This Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's hearing loss worsened as he exposed his hearing to excessive noise during the years of touring with the band back in the day when rock and rollers did NOT wear hearing protection. Unfortunately, Stills' choice of career and subsequent success only made his hearing loss worse.

"I also thought they [hearing aids] would block up my ears and cause me to miss the ambience of the room and the crowds." That's critical when singing close harmonies. You have to hear the other singers in a variety of settings and adapt your singing accordingly - something difficult to do if you experience hearing loss.

Sometime-fellow band member and rock god, Neil Young, first suggested that Stephan try a new, state-of-the-art, behind-the-ear hearing aid from manufacturer, Oticon. The model, called the Dual, is lightweight, nearly invisible and powerful enough to power  

The Oticon Dual Hearing Aids

"I fell in love with them immediately. They were so light, they enhanced the frequencies I needed and let the ambient sound come in," Stills explains.

"My Duals certainly allow me to sing in tune - something that has been difficult for me in recent years. In performances, the sound from my acoustic guitar is so big, it wiped out what I was singing. I would go out of tune and not realize it," the guitar legend explained.

"Now when I perform I am able to hear the top end of the music and get back in tune." Stills went on to explain how his Duals have helped with is guitar work, something about which Stills is best known, having been voted one of the Top 100 Guitarists by Rolling Stone.

"When you don't take care of your hearing loss, you can get isolated, fall into depression and it's a domino effect. You are cut off so you fall into depressive cycles and don't know why you feel so bad but you do," Stills explained during a recent interview.

"And it has so much to do with the fact that you can't participate. There are a myriad of reasons not to take the steps you can take to improve your life. If I was 50 and had just discovered the difference my hearing solutions could make, I would have improved my circumstances and my shows and would have saved myself a lot of troubles over the last 10 years."

Yes, it's been 40 years since that rainy week in upstate New York, but the memories are still vivid and, if you haven't seen the movie for a few years, rent it. It holds up well after all these years, just like Stephan Stills.

Oticon celebrates the 40th Anniversary of a historic time in American music history this August. Pull out that double vinyl Woodstock album and take a trip back in time, man.

Only don't play it too loud, okay?

To read more about Stephan Stills and his life with hearing loss and now his Oticon Dual hearing aids, read: Woodstock Celebrates 40th Birthday: Stephen Stills and Oticon Rock On at Healthy Hearing.