Paul Simon Talks About Hearing Loss in His Left Ear: ‘I Can’t Hear My Voice’ If Instruments Are Too Loud

Paul Simon talks candidly about his hearing loss.

While appearing at the premiere of his MGM+ documentaries in New York, In restless dreams: The music of Paul Simonon Wednesday, the musician (82) opened up about losing hearing in his left ear during a question and answer session moderated by Stephen Colbert.

“It’s come back enough that I’m comfortable singing and playing guitar and playing a few other instruments,” Simon said of his hearing. “That’s good. I can hear my voice the way I want in the context of the music.”

However, Simon said that if there’s an instrument that’s too noisy, he struggles to perform.

“If there’s a drum or an electric guitar, it’s too loud and I can’t hear my voice,” he explained to Colbert, who is deaf in his right ear. “But when I first lost my hearing, I couldn’t – it threw me off. Everything was coming from this side. But you know what I’m talking about [about].”

Paul Simon talks to Stephen Colbert in New York.

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The Simon & Garfunkel co-founder first revealed his hearing loss in May 2023 during an interview with Time.

“All of a sudden I lost most of my hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it,” he told the publication. “That’s why everything became more difficult. My reaction to it was frustration and anger; not quite anger yet, because I thought it would pass, that it would get better.”

The 16 Grammy-winning singer said he lost his hearing while working on his latest album, seven psalms, which was published on May 19, 2023.

Paul Simon.

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A few months later, in September, the star said she was “coming to terms” with her hearing loss at the world premiere of her Alex Gibney-directed documentaries at the Toronto International Film Festival.

“I haven’t fully embraced it, but I’m starting,” Simon told the audience in a Q&A after the screening, per Guard.

“I play the guitar every day. It is an instrument that allows me to express myself creatively. But that’s also where I go for comfort. If I’m feeling… ‘whatever’. So it’s a very important thing for me,” said the performer. “You know, something happens to you when you have some kind of disability that changes your consciousness or changes the way you interact with life.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education