In a 2008 video Shatner filmed for the American Tinnitus Association, he noted the accident, saying:
“My tinnitus began while I was filming the ‘Star Trek’ episode ‘Arena.’ I was standing too close to a special effects explosion and in resulted in tinnitus. There were days when I didn’t know whether I would survive the agony, I was so tormented by the screeching in my head. I realized that I wouldn’t be able to go on. But then a ray of light burst into my life the American Tinnitus Association. The help they gave me literally saved my life.”
Shatner remained active in tinnitus charities for years. In 2016, he spoke with the Aquarian and talked about using habituation, a psychological technique that involves becoming accustomed to certain symptoms so that they become less present and more tolerable. Thanks to the ATA video, Shatner even said he was able to talk to a “famous musician” about the effects, and how much he’s been able to weather his condition:
“A famous musician got a hold of me cold. I didn’t know him. He knew I got it because I was the official spokesman for tinnitus at one period, and I talked him down and encouraged him to do a habituation, you know, the white sound, because when I was asked when I first got it how it affected my life from 1 to 10, it was 9 1/2. Now I don’t hear it except when you and I are talking about it.”
A now-unavailable 1996 appearance on “Late Night with David Letterman” revealed that not only did Shatner receive some hearing damage on the set of “Arena,” but so too did Leonard Nimoy. Explosions, it seems, are very, very, very loud.