Pete Townshend is hopeful his future with The Who is secure - the new in-ear monitors the rocker has been testing to improve his hearing have made him feel "reborn".
The 64 year old has suffered from partial deafness and tinnitus for many years, and admitted last month (Feb10) the condition is now so bad he has cut back on the amount of time he spends in the recording studio.
Townshend also feared his days on-stage may be numbered.
But he was recently introduced to new technology by Neil Young's audiologist ahead of a charity show in London at the end of March (10) - and the gadget is working wonders.
Townshend says, "I am testing out some studio and stage in-ear monitor systems and wearing a Phonak hearing aid almost all the rest of the time. I feel I’ve been reborn in some ways.
"Not everything I hear is worth hearing but at least I don’t have to turn the TV down in order to tell everyone in the room that what they are watching is rubbish. I don’t have to turn it up in the first place. Instead of TV interspersed with conversation, we have TV with conversation."