Silence is golden Jo Whiley on the miseries of tinnitus
When radio DJ Jo Whiley awoke one night with ringing in her ears, she had no idea that tinnitus would change her life forever
‘When you’re young, you think you’re immortal. You come back from a gig with your ears ringing and it’s the sign of a great night,” says Jo Whiley, ruefully. “Then, three decades later you wake up in the middle of the night with a whistling sound in your ears that won’t go away and you fear for your sanity.”
The broadcaster and regular anchor at Glastonbury – and almost every other music festival going – was diagnosed with tinnitus four years ago. It came as a shock – but perhaps not a surprise, given she has seen thousands of gigs down the years.
“Musicians have always known the risks but there was no awareness back then of the damage sustained loud music could do to the fans,” says Whiley, 52. “These days, yellow foam earplugs are handed out at every music festival, but for me it’s too late. I had to learn how to live with the whistling and distract my attention.”
For many performers, tinnitus is regarded as an occupational hazard; sufferers include Chris Martin of Coldplay, Will.i.am, Neil Young and Bob Dylan. Actor Steve Martin developed it after a shoot-out scene in the 1986 comedy Three Amigos.
Sustained loud music is a classic cause; it’s believed that bombardment with high-decibel noise damages the tiny hair cells inside the cochlea, which impacts on the neural signals that are sent to the brain.
Although it’s regarded as an ear problem, tinnitus is generated further up in the auditory system by the brain itself. The perception varies from person to person – the noise may be heard in one ear, in both ears or in the middle of the head, or it may be difficult to pinpoint.
Although there is no cure, the six million people in Britain who have the condition learn to shift their attention away from what can be ringing, buzzing, hissing or in Whiley’s case, constant whistling.
“It’s there all the time but I screen it out,” says the mother-of-four, whose husband, Steve Morton, a music producer, is also afflicted by noiserelated hearing loss. “When I’m feeling stressed the noise is worse, particularly in my left ear, which adds to my stress,” she says. “I have to really try to focus on something else: traffic, birdsong or music.”
Music has been Whiley’s life ever since she bought Parallel Lines when she was 13 back in 1978. Before her current berth on BBC Radio 2, where her laid-back, husky tones introduce an eclectic range of artists from 8pm to 10pm every night, she was a DJ on Radio 1 for 17 years and a regular presenter on Top of the Pops.
But for all that, Radio 2 suits her mellowness perfectly; even at the peak of her youthful fame, Whiley, with her slow smile and crescent eyes, was neither over-excitable in the studio, nor a crazy headline-grabber off air.
“If you immerse yourself in the music industry it can completely take you over, but I managed to stay sane,” she says. “I’ve always been quite sensible, due to my very loving, grounded upbringing. My family are amazing and that’s why we live in Northampton, to be near my parents.”
Whiley has a younger sister, Frances, 49, who was born with the chromosomal disorder “cri du chat”, so-called because newborns have no muscle tone and have a mewing cry. She is now in a wheelchair and has moved into a Mencap residential home, receiving 24-hour care.
“I went with Frances to a party held in Buckingham Palace recently to celebrate the work of Mencap and it was really funny,” says Whiley.
“Of course, being in the palace meant nothing to her and she was bored and kept shouting “Where’s the party?” The tiny vol-au-vents didn’t impress her either so she began yelling “Where’s the food?” over and over.
“The Duchess of Wessex was very good with her, but then Frances managed to smash a crystal bowl full of nuts – I think it’s fair to say they knew we’d been.”
Any rock ‘n’ roll tales are told with similar self-deprecation. “I suppose the greatest rock icon I’ve ever interviewed was Mick Jagger,” she says with a smile. “I’d done so much research and he bowled into the studio and said ‘Have we met before?’ I said we hadn’t and he responded ‘Oh well, you’d be the one to remember, wouldn’t you?’ He was completely charming on air and as soon as the mic was off, he switched off as well and swept out again.”
Then there’s the time her husband was working on a Michael Jackson concert and their eldest daughter, India, then “three or four” was invited on stage, where a chorus of children were dancing to We Are the World.
“India scrambled on stage, thrilled. She had wild hair and was wearing a Manic Street Preachers T-shirt, cut-off shorts and clompy boots. Michael started dancing towards her, then he clocked her ensemble and was so freaked out, he literally made off in the opposite direction,” laughs Whiley. “She just wasn’t as manicured as all the other hand-picked kids, which I was quite proud of. I have a photo of him hastily dancing away from her looking appalled; priceless!”
How time flies; India is now 25 and a food stylist, 19-year-old Jude is studying English and film at university, Cassius, 16, plays a range of instruments, and Coco, nine, loves sewing and crafts. She also keeps her mother in touch with chart music; Camila Cabello is a current favourite.
“I still remember the days when you hunched around the radio on a Sunday night waiting for the chart rundown,” says Whiley nostalgically. “There was a real tension and sense of excitement. But you can’t look back. The world has moved on and young people consume music differently.”
Whiley has moved on too: one of her greatest passions is gardening and earlier this year her Jo Whiley Scent Garden was one of five Radio 2 Feel Good Gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show, along with The Jeremy Vine Texture Garden and The Zoë Ball Listening Garden. Where once she interviewed David Bowie and Jay-z, now her dream gig would be to co-present a show with Monty Don and she famously gardens in shorts and bra; a revelation that made tabloid headlines, much to her bewilderment.
“My mother did… and still does,” she explains. “Gardening is hard work and hot work in the summer, so it makes perfect sense.”
A few friends sent her herbal remedies when she first noticed a whistling in her ears, back in 2013: “but I didn’t feel I wanted to go down that path, because there isn’t a cure,” she says. “The only way to deal with tinnitus is to find other sounds and tune in to them instead.”
According to the British Tinnitus Association, concern is growing that the condition is on the rise among young adults due to concert and club-going and headphones.
“My advice to young people who love music is to wear earplugs because it will protect your hearing,” she says. “And it’s important to keep the volume down when you are using earbuds or headphones. They’re so well made now that they don’t leak sound – I often take them from my kids to check how loud the music has been turned up and I would urge other parents to do the same.”
As for Whiley, she is keenly aware that there’s one sound many of us take for granted that she will never be able to hear again: that of silence.
Jo Whiley is supporting Specsavers Audiologists “Listen Up!” Campaign to encourage regular hearing checks. For more information or to book a free hearing test, visit specsavers.co.uk/ hearing
‘I have to really try to focus on something else: traffic, birdsong or music’
‘I often take the headphones from my kids to check how loud the music is’