There is a lot to commend about the newest rendition of A Star is Born. The music, the actors, the realness, and the fact that it is not just a copy-and-paste of the previous three movies despite sharing the same story. The film ranks among those which treat the dangers of alcohol addiction and mental health seriously, and help raise visibility for the issues. But so did, in some extent, the previous versions of the story. One of the most significant issues the 2018 film adds on it plate is the fact that the main character suffers from tinnitus, or the sensation when you hear a sound in your ear which doesn’t exist outside of it. It is a problem which can be the symptom stemming from various causes. According to American Tinnitus Association, it is quite common:

Millions of Americans experience tinnitus, often to a debilitating degree, making it one of the most common health conditions in the country. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that nearly 15% of the general public — over 50 million Americans — experience some form of tinnitus. Roughly 20 million people struggle with burdensome chronic tinnitus, while 2 million have extreme and debilitating cases.

(American Tinnitus Association)

Despite it being so common, it’s not particularly well-represented in the American popular culture, with only a handful of movies addressing the issue. By its portrayal, A Star is Born tries to capture the reality and implications of it and raise the visibility of this invisible disability. It mostly succeeds.

What you see is what you understand

While the immediate image of someone who is disabled is a person with a visible disability, it is actually quite the opposite:

According to the 2002 U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 96 percent of individuals with a disability or illness live with one that is invisible. An invisible disability is defined as one that is unseen, hidden, concealed, or not immediately apparent so as to not be instantly observed by another.

(Quinian 755)

Apart from the complications and difficulties all disabilities pose to those that suffer from them, with invisible disability, there is an added difficulty “for the person because it is hard for others to recognize or acknowledge it if they cannot see it in a visible way” (Quinian 755). The disability of some people goes mostly unnoticed and unrecognized by the outer world unless the disabled person shares their struggle. But it doesn’t mean it’s not still there, and that it’s not still as serious as visible disabilities. Yet “[s]ome commentators believe that the facial invisibility of a disability must mitigate the impact of disability, since it enables a person to escape the sort of stigmatization that attaches to individuals whose disabilities are visible” (Davis 154).

However, while the invisibility of a disability may lessen the social impacts, it doesn’t decrease the impact it has on people’s physical, mental, or emotional health. It can affect people in various ways depending on their personalities or situations in life, and therefore should never be underestimated by others. Consider this example: “a musician losing his hearing ability will be in a great misery although he does not look physically ill” (Rahardjo 16). This is where A Star is Born comes in, as this is exactly what is going on in the film with the main male character. The film shows both the effects on tinnitus on the affected person, and the reaction to it as personified by the viewers.

Side effects of rock music… and else

What is happening to Jackson Maine, then? The rock musician suffers from loud ringing in his ear which, in the film, manifests itself both after playing a loud concert, and later on even before stepping on the stage. What is more, he routinely shows signs of not hearing other people properly when they talk to him, and having to turn his ear closely to them.

The fact that he’s a rock musician and suffers from problems that affect his hearing adds up because “sounds produced by human, such as the loud rock music and other sound effects may be harmful to the hearing organ, and these may cause reduction to human’s hearing ability” (Rahardjo 14). Jackson himself in the movie attributes his symptoms to sticking his head into his dad’s record player when he was a child. In the article by Tom Avril, he talked to Dennis C. Fitzgerald, an assistant professor of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery, and he writes about the possible sources of tinnitus:

Tinnitus can be caused by a short, intense burst of noise, such as an explosion, or by a physical blow to the ear, Fitzgerald said. In both cases, the damage is the result of intense pressure — harming sensory cells in the inner ear or the circuitry that travels from those cells to the brain. The condition also can be caused by long-term exposure to noise, and it seems to have a hereditary component. In some cases, it can result from ear infections or as a side effect of taking certain drugs.

(Avril)

However, when asked if the reason Jackson gives for him developing tinnitus, the professor didn’t think it was the most probable cause as “years of playing rock music is more believable”. In fact, tinnitus is quite common among musicians. According to a Norwegian study, there is quite a high prevalence of tinnitus among these artists:

We observed a hearing loss in 37.8% of the rock musicians. Significantly poorer hearing thresholds were seen at most pure-tone frequencies in musicians than controls, with the most pronounced threshold shift at 6 kHz. The use of hearing protection, in particular custom-fitted earplugs, has a preventive effect but a minority of rock musicians apply them consistently. . . . We observed a 20% prevalence of chronic tinnitus but none of the affected musicians had severe tinnitus symptomatology.

(Hearing loss and tinnitus in rock musicians: A Norwegian survey)

So while the actual cause of the main characters tinnitus may not have been completely probable, and the years of him playing sold out stadiums were more to blame, A Star is Born still shows a realistic illness and symptoms on a character that is a part of a group which is often affected by it.

Invisible invisibility

The same realness to showing the illness also manifests itself in the way the problems Jackson has are introduced to the viewers. In quite a symbolic way, from the beginning, the film treats the invisible disability invisibly, leaving it to the viewers to piece it together. It only addresses the fact that something may be wrong with Jackson’s hearing directly good 20 minutes into the film. While talking to Ally in the bar after her performance, he says to her: “You know, I had a thing when I was little. I was born with this thing in my ear, couldn’t hear. What do I wind up being? A singer” (00:18:22-00:18:30). Afterwards, her puzzled expression gives the indication that this was a new piece of information for her – both after knowing who Jackson Maine is publicly, and having spent some time with him already.

Prior to this scene, there are two indications that Jackson may be suffering from some problems with his hearing. After his first performance, Jackson get into his car and is driven away. This is the first time we hear the high-pitched ringing sound he hears because of his tinnitus. However, as he just takes a big sip from his bottle seconds before and is generally visibly intoxicated, there is a tendency to suggest that the ringing is not real, that it is supposed to only symbolize his confusion in his surroundings, and not be a symptom of his illness.

Similarly, when Jackson goes backstage to meet Ally for the first time, in the short scene, there are two times he has to ask to repeat the question. In one instance he even turns his right year and moves closer so the sound is more straightforward. The fact that they are in a room full of people could be the explanation why he doesn’t hear properly, but then again, he is the only one asking to repeat the questions. Therefore, alcohol again suggests itself as the best reason – he’s simply drunk and has trouble with keeping up with his surroundings.

While the execution of these two scenes is pretty straightforward, it’s not something the film lingers on. When it comes to his character, the focus is immediately rather on the fact that he drinks a lot. This points well to the fact that a hearing problem is something usually invisible to people. We’re not used to even try to look for it and we tend to overlook the indications. On the other, alcoholism is one of the most common and well-represented addictions, and therefore we’re quick to point at it when a character has a bottle or a glass in their hands.

Jacksons struggle with his hearing is fully established only after the scene when he has his ears tested, and his doctor suggests he wears inner monitors to help save his hearing: “Unfortunately, if you keep blasting the hearing, it’s not gonna come back. I think it’s time we reconsider the inner monitors. . . . If we put the inner moles in, we can actually use those to amplify the high frequencies. Cut down the sound” (00:30:12-00:30:26). This shows the severity of the issue. However, the next scenes gives the indication that Jackson is not willing to take the much-needed measures to get better:

BOBBY: You gotta put ’em in, man

JACKSON: I told you, I can’t wear those things. When I wear ’em, it’s just in my head, and I need to be here with everybody else.

BOBBY: The doctor said it’s the only way to manage this thing, Jack. You’re not gonna get back what you lost. It’s the only way we can manage what you still got.

(00:30:57-00:31:16)

His continued struggle with the tinnitus only worsens throughout the movie, and it’s established that it’s one of the reasons Jackson is drinking. However, as the film progresses and we learn more about Jackson, his health issues are eventually moved into the background in favor of his troubled childhood, and they’re not really mentioned anymore. The film then misses out on showing the connection between tinnitus – or other invisible disabilities – and the impact which it has on your mental health. This can include, among other things, depression, anxiety, or mood swings, which are some of the symptoms Jackson suffers from as well. However, this way, the portrayal of the disability does not continue the stereotype of a disabled victim because “as a culture, we are committed to the concept that there are experiences—certain disabilities and illnesses—that are ‘worse than death’” (Pavlides 46) as this depiction is otherwise quite prevalent in the movie industry.

TL;DR: A Star is Born shows the impact of an invisible disability as the main character, a musician, suffers from tinnitus which causes him hearing problems. Despite being quite prevalent in the American population, its not represented often in the movie industry, which the film helps remedy. It portrays the illness quite subtly from the beginning and only directly addresses it later on. It thus leaves the recognition of the problem on the viewers themselves, in which it mirrors life as invisible disability may be hard to notice or acknowledge. The movie, however, doesn’t do an equally good job of portraying the connection of the illness to the mental health of the character, but at least stays out of the frequent stereotype of the disabled victim.

Don’t have enough of A Star is Born? Then read the review of the movie.

“Old-fashioned” sources:

• A Star is Born. Dir. Bradley Cooper. Perf. Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, and Sam Elliott. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2018. YouTube.
• Davis, N. Ann. “Invisible Disability.” Ethics 116.1 (2005): 153-213. JSTOR. Web. 18 June 2019.
• Pavlides, Merope. “Whose Choice Is It, Anyway?: Disability and Suicide in Four Contemporary Films.” Journal of Disability Policy Studies 16.1 (2005): 46-52. SagePub. Web. 18 June 2019.
• Quinian, Margaret M. “Invisible Disabilities.” Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Ed. Teresa L. Thompson. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2014. 755. SagePub. Web. 18 June 2019.
• Rahardjo, Sulantari. “Hearing Impaired: Invisible Disability.” Hearing Impairment: An Invisible Disability – How You Can Live With a Hearing Impairment. Ed. Jun-Ichi Suzuki, Takeo Kobayashi, and Keijiro Koga. Tokyo: Springer, 2004. 14-19. Springer. Web. 18 June 2019.