When music so rapidly went out of the window, Andy entered the world of audiology and he spent the next 15 years trying to help people stimulate what was left of their impaired hearing. The links between noise and hearing damage soon became obvious. Veterans from all the 20th Century conflicts, and a whole cross section of individuals, from pilots to factory workers, who had worked in noise, presented
themselves at his practice to seek help with their hearing. In the late 80’s, 30 years after the introduction of amplified music, along came the musicians – in their droves!

The discovery of Etymotic Research, a US based Hearing Research and Development Company changed the direction of Andy’s focus. Etymotic (true to the ear) had developed the ER musician’s earplug, which for the first time offered musicians a viable solution to protecting their hearing without changing the fidelity of their music. In-Ear Monitoring was also in its infancy and Andy saw an opportunity to make a difference by offering preventative products, rather than trying to deal with the problems after the damage has been done. Music still provides the heartbeat to ACS, but by adopting the same principles he has applied to helping musicians, Andy
continues to take his company into other areas where noise is a major problem. His ambition now, is to get the world listening to portable music players safely. www.customearphones.co.uk is the first of many initiatives aimed at achieving this goal. His take on noise is thought provoking;

'Noise takes no prisoners. It doesn’t care whose hearing it damages and it pays no mind to the devastating social and economic consequences it inflicts on those unfortunate enough to cross its path. Rarely, except in cases like mine, will it damage instantly, but slowly over time, will permanently destroy parts of the complex nerve system that allows us to perceive sound. It won’t kill you, but it will reap misery and social disablement without discrimination. The sad fact remains that noise induced hearing damage is an avoidable condition’

Increasingly aware of living in a world that is becoming inherently more noisy, in 2001 Andy launched www.heartomorrow.com : the aim, to promote the safe enjoyment of sound and create an educational platform to raise awareness to all, but in particular to young people, of the potential dangers of over-exposure to loud sounds.

Andy welcomes you to join him in supporting the aims of Hear Tomorrow; interested parties should e-mail him -  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it