Singer KT Tunstall has announced the cancellation of her Summer tour dates, the singer has attributed the news to concerns over her hearing.
The Scottish singer took to her social media channels to post a statement outlining the reasons for the termination of the tour.
In the statement the ‘Suddenly I See’ singer related her fears to a previous incident involving hearing loss during her 2018 tour whilst thanking her fans for their continued support. Within the statement the singer also announces her unfortunate withdrawal from her US tour dates with Hall and Oats, the rescheduled tour saw the singer recruited to support legendary pop duo. The outfit responsible for such hits as ‘Maneater’ and ‘I Can’t Go for That |(No Can Do)’ will still be hitting this road this summer under the name Daryl Hall + John Oates, joined by with special guests Squeeze.
Tunstall has stated that she previously experienced hearing issues a decade prior, the artist’s left ear incurred high-frequency issues. Tunstall has stated that she then developed tinnitus, a hearing-loss condition, that includes symptoms such as ringing, roaring and humming sounds in the ears. The condition is said to affect 15-20% of people, the issue has also been described as a permanent ailment among people diagnosed.
Earlier in the year, the singer addressed her fears on the threat of hearing loss, the singer attributed her concerns to her underuse of ear protection whilst listening to loud music. The 46-year-old singer provided the following description of her relationship with live music and her subsequent issues with tinnitus. “I’d never been particularly careful about my hearing over the years, especially as a clubber through my 20s and cranking the volume up on bad monitors at my early gigs, The kicker is, I still have the tinnitus, even in a deaf ear, I’ve adapted really well and can still perform and record, but if I could do it all again, I would definitely make sure I was going for regular hearing checks from a young age.”
KT Tunstall first rose to fan with the release of her 2005 single, ‘Black Horse and the Cherry Tree’. The track landed at number 28 within the UK singles charts and was the lead single from the singer’s debut studio album, ‘Eye to the Telescope’ released in 2004, the album was later re-released under Relentless Records in 2005. The track was performed live in 2004 on the popular TV show, ‘Later… with Jools Holland’, the solo performance garnered public attention for the singer and showcased the artist’s original talents. Tunstall was soon winning awards and being nominated for various accolades, such nominations include the 2005 Mercury Prize and the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance in 2007.
Tunstall has also been nominated for various awards at the Brit award ceremonies, in 2006 the singer was nominated for the categories Best British Live Acts and BRIT Award for Best Breakthrough Act. Tunstall would go on to win multiple Brit Awards in 2006 for two categories, Best British Female Artist and the European Border Breakers Award. The multitalented singer has also worked within the film industry, Tunstall has written soundtracks for a variety of films. She has penned the score and music for such films as ‘The Kid’, the Disney sports biographical drama ‘Million Dollar Arm’ and ‘Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast’. Tunstall also wrote two pieces of music for the Blockbuster film ‘Bad Moms’, entitled ‘Band Moms (Suite)‘ and ‘Enough Is Enough (Suite)’.
Exposure to loud music is an issue in which the World Health Organisation wish to address and have provided guidance regarding prevention and care. Such precautions suggested include carefully controlled settings of volume levels on phones and other mobile devices and noise-cancelling headphones. The World Health Organisation has also suggested safety measures for live music such as wearable ear protection.
