The Steel Guitar Forum

I have been playing steel for almost 44 years. For over 3 weeks now I can't tell one chord from the other. I went to my doctor and he said that I had an ear infection and he gave me an anti-biotic. Since that didn't help I went back and he gave me a stronger anti-biotic and a shot. He said that he wanted to see me again in two weeks and he might have to send me to an ear doctor. I am still taking the second round of anti-biotics and I still can't play. I hear but I have a problem with voices and musical tones.

Hang in there Frank!

That's got to be extremely frustrating!

Go to the specialist ASAP

Not saying it is, but it might be this. It's what I have.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensorineural_hearing_loss

Go to an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) specialist ASAP. I recently had an extremely bad ear infection that resulted in short-term damage to my inner right ear. Plus my ear was filled with fluid for more than one month that caused hearing loss and tinnitus. Symptoms also included hearing notes flat in my right ear and listening to any type of music (even softly) was painful. I'm back to normal after a dose of prednisone prescribed by the ENT, but I'm glad I went to the specialist sooner than later as there could have been permanent damage. Very scary situation.

This sounds like what is commonly referred to as tone deafness. Isn't that what happened to Lloyd Green back in the day when he was the go to session guy,,,when he kinda dropped out of sight for awhile????

+1 on the ENT!
Lloyd had Tinnitis. And one day it went away! Mine is just awful.

Good luck Francis! I too have had tinnitus for a year now, ever since playing a gig with an extremely loud DJ. I'm glad to hear that it can go away, and I will be extremely happy if/when it does.

I'm also plagued with hearing issues, but am learning to adapt.....