Episode 516 – Stephen Schultz On Hearing Loss, Spotify Adjustable Song Speed, And Peak Music Gear

My guest this week is Stephen Schultz, who besides being an expert flautist specializing in Baroque flute, is an Associate Teaching Professor in Music History and Flute at Carnegie Mellon University and director of the Carnegie Mellon Baroque Orchestra. Stephen is also an advocate for hearing protection for all musicians as he’s learned to overcome his personal difficulties with hearing loss. Many people falsely identify hearing loss with rock musicians, but the fact is that 52% of classical musicians have some degree of permanent hearing damage, as opposed to only 30% of rock musicians. The latest generation of hearing aids are so sophisticated that musicians can now wear them without any impediments to their playing, and so many high profile musicians are now doing so that the stigma of wearing hearing aids has now greatly diminished. During our interview Stephen and I spoke about discovering he had a hearing problem, finding the right hearing aids for music, why more orchestral members suffer from hearing loss than even rock musicians, advice on looking for the right pair, and so much more. I spoke with Stephen via zoom from his home in Pittsburg.  On the intro I looked at how Spotify may be introducing a new song speed feature soon, and whether we’ve reached Peak Music Gear as fewer new music and audio products are released.