The noise-polluted world: an interview with Plácido Domingo

The star tenor on perils for the sense of hearing and the necessity of silent periods.

Since recently, you have been an ambassador for Hear the World, a global initiative by hearing system manufacturer Phonak. What is this initiative about?

P. Domingo: We were made aware of a problem that gets worse every day: people losing their sense of hearing. Currently, as many as 500 million people are hearing impaired or deaf. In our noise-polluted world, we are exposed to a number of sounds. The world gets a little bit louder ever day. Especially young people are affected, when they spend too much time at discos or with an iPod in their ears. I recommend they have their hearing tested every year to find out how much of their hearing capacity they may have lost already. It can be up to ten percent within a single year!

However, avoiding noise altogether is hardly possible, and for many people, visits to the disco are a part of their routine.

P. Domingo: That’s for sure. And once the ears are damaged for good, they can always get a hearing aid. But being an ambassador for the initiative, I would certainly like to give people a wake-up call before it is too late. I just do not want for 700 million people to have a damaged sense of hearing. This is the figure statistics present for the near future.

Do you suffer from hearing problems yourself?

P. Domingo: No. But sometimes – after practicing for five or six hours with the orchestra – my ears need to get some rest. It is very important to give them some silent periods.

How do you react to background music?

P. Domingo: I kindly ask for the music to be turned off immediately. When I am sitting at a restaurant, I do not wish to be bothered with any music. Oftentimes, people do not even want to hear the music they are exposed to, they simply do not say anything.