[emeritus]

When I was in my mid-50's I picked up a chest infection when I was in hospital for a minor operation and this affected my hearing. What I do well remember is that it upset both the harmonic relationship of sounds, and my sense of sound localisation. Music was so discordant to me that I couldn't enjoy it, and sounds that I knew were from straight ahead, seemed to come from the upper left. I still remember the clashing jangle of discordant sound of the six o'clock news signature tune! Fortunately it only lasted a couple of months.

I remember testing my frequency response using an audio signal generator in the lab when I was in my early 20's, and could then manage up to about 16kHz. I haven't tested it recently, but I can no longer hear the "beep beep" of the electronic alarm of my clock radio in my right ear.