These musicians suffer from hearing problems

According to Simon, however, losing the ability to perform live due to his hearing would save him from performing some songs. "The songs of mine that I don’t want to sing live, I don’t sing them. Sometimes there are songs that I like and then at a certain point in a tour, I’ll say, ‘What the [ ] are you doing, Paul?’” he explained. “Quite often that would come during ‘You Can Call Me Al.’ I’d think, ‘What are you doing? You’re like a Paul Simon cover band. You should get off the road, go home.'”

Hopefully he does return to performing, though he added that contracting COVID-19 in his eighties “has left him physically frail,” according to The Times. “Boy, have I been beaten up in these last couple of years,” Simon said. “But I look good, right?"

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Dave Grohl -

Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl described himself as deaf during a appearance on 'The Howard Stern Show,' adding that he has relied on lip-reading for the past 20 years. Still, he says his ears don't fail him while recording in the studio and mixing albums.

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Phil Collins - Ever notice how Phil Collins doesn't perform as much anymore as he used to? The singer has experienced serious hearing loss in his left ear. Specialists believe he could go completely deaf if he's not careful.

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Phil Collins - The former Genesis drummer and front man has said that the ringing sound in his ear is the loudest he's ever heard.

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Sting - Sting revealed he suffers from a hearing impairment and that he'd tried using a hearing aid. However, he didn't like it very much.

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Sting - In a radio interview with Sirius XM, the former Police front man said that he's now able to pick up people's conversations when walking down the streets of New York.

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Bono - The Irish star suffers from tinnitus as well. He even mentions this in the U2 song 'Staring at the Sun.'

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Bono - The lyrics in question are: "There's an insect in your ear/if you scratch it won't disappear/it's gonna itch and burn and sting."

8 / 41 Fotos

Eric Clapton - Using 100 watt speakers over the course of his career, the British singer/guitarist also developed tinnitus.

9 / 41 Fotos

Eric Clapton - He's said that if he could go back in time, he would have chosen to use less powerful speakers as they ruined his hearing.

10 / 41 Fotos

Barbra Streisand - Barbra Streisand revealed she's been suffering from hyperacusis and tinnitus since the age of nine.

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Barbra Streisand - She claims that ever since childhood she's heard a persistent ringing noise, and she would try to bury her head in her scarf whenever the noises got to be too much.

12 / 41 Fotos

Chris Martin - In an interview with 'The Daily Mirror,' the Coldplay front man admitted to having suffered from tinnitus for 15 years.

13 / 41 Fotos

Chris Martin - Which is why he can often be seen wearing earplugs during their concerts. Although far from being a permanent solution, it at least stops it from getting worse.

14 / 41 Fotos

Noel Gallagher - The creative force behind Oasis suffers from tinnitus as well. One of the main causes of this condition is continued exposure to high levels of sound.

15 / 41 Fotos

Noel Gallagher - Gallagher thinks he picked up the condition because he's been playing guitar non-stop for over 20 years.

16 / 41 Fotos

Céline Dion - In 2018, Céline Dion announced she would be canceling all her concerts due to hearing issues that made singing impossible for the Canadian musician.

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Céline Dion - The singer was suffering from autophony, a phenomenon whereby the normally closed Eustachian tube inside the ear opens and the sound of one's own voice becomes audible, in the singer's case excessively so.

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Will.i.am - The singer and producer suffers from the same ailment, saying he hears high-pitched sounds without there being any noise.

19 / 41 Fotos

Will.i.am - Will.i.am revealed to 'The Sun' that silence isn't something he's familiar with, and that his love for music is what eases the pain.

20 / 41 Fotos

Ozzy Osbourne -

The infamous Black Sabbath front man's hearing has suffered from decades of exposure to loud heavy metal music and drug abuse.

21 / 41 Fotos

Ozzy Osbourne - During an episode of 'The Osbournes,' he revealed he was practically deaf.

22 / 41 Fotos

Brian Johnson - The AC/DC singer had to cancel several shows after his doctors told him that he would be risking going completely deaf.

23 / 41 Fotos

Brian Johnson - However, it wasn't just music that damaged his hearing. Johnson actually used to drive race cars without proper ear protection. He even blew out one of his eardrums once.

24 / 41 Fotos

Neil Young -

The Canadian music legend suffers from tinnitus as well.

25 / 41 Fotos

Neil Young - However, the rocker is still managing to pull in the crowds, and is still going strong. He does try to take care so the condition doesn't worsen.

26 / 41 Fotos

Grimes - The Canadian synth-pop artist also suffers from tinnitus, and even had to cancel a European tour because of it.

27 / 41 Fotos

Grimes - She's admitted to having exposed her hearing to powerful speakers on a regular basis, like at concerts from her favorite band Animal Collective.

28 / 41 Fotos

Pete Townshend - The Who guitarist suffers from partial deafness caused by exposure to loud music and the sounds of pyrotechnics.

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Pete Townshend - His hearing issues actually pushed him to try to help others. In 1989 he founded HEAR (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers), which seeks to prevent hearing problems among musicians.

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Jeff Beck - According to Rolling Stone magazine, he's the 14th greatest guitarist in the world—but it came at a price.

31 / 41 Fotos

Jeff Beck - Due to his daily exposure to high sound volumes, he's developed a mild (but painful) case of tinnitus.

32 / 41 Fotos

Brian Wilson - The Beach Boys lead singer hasn't been able to hear with his right ear since his childhood.

33 / 41 Fotos

Brian Wilson - Yet he still managed to churn out 'Pet Sounds,' an album lauded by fans and critics alike as one of the 20th century's best.

34 / 41 Fotos

Danny Elfman - The former Oingo Boingo lead singer actually had to leave the band because of partial hearing loss.

35 / 41 Fotos

Danny Elfman - However, he's still active in the entertainment industry. These days he's an internationally recognized film score composer.

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Ludwig von Beethoven - The most famous deaf musician in history is presumed to have started hearing ringing noises between the ages of 26 and 28, eventually leading to total deafness.

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Ludwig von Beethoven -

In June of 1801, a 31-year-old Beethoven wrote to a friend that he'd been advised to drink tonic water, pour sweet almond oil into his ears and take cold baths. Unfortunately, at that point his life had become so unbearable that he had already stopped attending social events for two years.

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Orchestra musicians - A Norwegian study revealed that it's not just pop and rock artists that suffer from these issues. It's also classical musicians that are exposed to high sound volumes.

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Orchestra musicans -

According to the study, two in every five musicians suffer from tinnitus. 82.1% of all participants indicated they feel pain while playing.

40 / 41 Fotos

0 / 41 Fotos

Paul Simon -

Getty Images

1 / 41 Fotos

Dave Grohl -

2 / 41 Fotos

3 / 41 Fotos

Phil Collins - The former Genesis drummer and front man has said that the ringing sound in his ear is the loudest he's ever heard.

4 / 41 Fotos

Sting - Sting revealed he suffers from a hearing impairment and that he'd tried using a hearing aid. However, he didn't like it very much.

5 / 41 Fotos

Sting - In a radio interview with Sirius XM, the former Police front man said that he's now able to pick up people's conversations when walking down the streets of New York.

6 / 41 Fotos

Bono - The Irish star suffers from tinnitus as well. He even mentions this in the U2 song 'Staring at the Sun.'

7 / 41 Fotos

Bono - The lyrics in question are: "There's an insect in your ear/if you scratch it won't disappear/it's gonna itch and burn and sting."

8 / 41 Fotos

Eric Clapton - Using 100 watt speakers over the course of his career, the British singer/guitarist also developed tinnitus.

9 / 41 Fotos

Eric Clapton - He's said that if he could go back in time, he would have chosen to use less powerful speakers as they ruined his hearing.

10 / 41 Fotos

Barbra Streisand - Barbra Streisand revealed she's been suffering from hyperacusis and tinnitus since the age of nine.

11 / 41 Fotos

Barbra Streisand - She claims that ever since childhood she's heard a persistent ringing noise, and she would try to bury her head in her scarf whenever the noises got to be too much.

12 / 41 Fotos

Chris Martin - In an interview with 'The Daily Mirror,' the Coldplay front man admitted to having suffered from tinnitus for 15 years.

13 / 41 Fotos

Chris Martin - Which is why he can often be seen wearing earplugs during their concerts. Although far from being a permanent solution, it at least stops it from getting worse.

14 / 41 Fotos

Noel Gallagher - The creative force behind Oasis suffers from tinnitus as well. One of the main causes of this condition is continued exposure to high levels of sound.

15 / 41 Fotos

Noel Gallagher - Gallagher thinks he picked up the condition because he's been playing guitar non-stop for over 20 years.

16 / 41 Fotos

Céline Dion - In 2018, Céline Dion announced she would be canceling all her concerts due to hearing issues that made singing impossible for the Canadian musician.

17 / 41 Fotos

18 / 41 Fotos

Will.i.am - The singer and producer suffers from the same ailment, saying he hears high-pitched sounds without there being any noise.

19 / 41 Fotos

Will.i.am - Will.i.am revealed to 'The Sun' that silence isn't something he's familiar with, and that his love for music is what eases the pain.

20 / 41 Fotos

Ozzy Osbourne -

The infamous Black Sabbath front man's hearing has suffered from decades of exposure to loud heavy metal music and drug abuse.

Getty Images

21 / 41 Fotos

Ozzy Osbourne - During an episode of 'The Osbournes,' he revealed he was practically deaf.

22 / 41 Fotos

Brian Johnson - The AC/DC singer had to cancel several shows after his doctors told him that he would be risking going completely deaf.

23 / 41 Fotos

Brian Johnson - However, it wasn't just music that damaged his hearing. Johnson actually used to drive race cars without proper ear protection. He even blew out one of his eardrums once.

24 / 41 Fotos

Neil Young -

The Canadian music legend suffers from tinnitus as well.

Getty Images

25 / 41 Fotos

Neil Young - However, the rocker is still managing to pull in the crowds, and is still going strong. He does try to take care so the condition doesn't worsen.

26 / 41 Fotos

Grimes - The Canadian synth-pop artist also suffers from tinnitus, and even had to cancel a European tour because of it.

27 / 41 Fotos

Grimes - She's admitted to having exposed her hearing to powerful speakers on a regular basis, like at concerts from her favorite band Animal Collective.

28 / 41 Fotos

Pete Townshend - The Who guitarist suffers from partial deafness caused by exposure to loud music and the sounds of pyrotechnics.

29 / 41 Fotos

30 / 41 Fotos

Jeff Beck - According to Rolling Stone magazine, he's the 14th greatest guitarist in the world—but it came at a price.

31 / 41 Fotos

Jeff Beck - Due to his daily exposure to high sound volumes, he's developed a mild (but painful) case of tinnitus.

32 / 41 Fotos

Brian Wilson - The Beach Boys lead singer hasn't been able to hear with his right ear since his childhood.

33 / 41 Fotos

Brian Wilson - Yet he still managed to churn out 'Pet Sounds,' an album lauded by fans and critics alike as one of the 20th century's best.

34 / 41 Fotos

Danny Elfman - The former Oingo Boingo lead singer actually had to leave the band because of partial hearing loss.

35 / 41 Fotos

Danny Elfman - However, he's still active in the entertainment industry. These days he's an internationally recognized film score composer.

36 / 41 Fotos

Ludwig von Beethoven - The most famous deaf musician in history is presumed to have started hearing ringing noises between the ages of 26 and 28, eventually leading to total deafness.

37 / 41 Fotos

Ludwig von Beethoven -

Getty Images

38 / 41 Fotos

Orchestra musicians - A Norwegian study revealed that it's not just pop and rock artists that suffer from these issues. It's also classical musicians that are exposed to high sound volumes.

39 / 41 Fotos

Orchestra musicans -

According to the study, two in every five musicians suffer from tinnitus. 82.1% of all participants indicated they feel pain while playing.

40 / 41 Fotos

These musicians suffer from hearing problems

Paul Simon says he "lost most of the hearing in my left ear," may not perform live again

24/05/23 | StarsInsider

MUSIC Hearing loss

The sound of silence has never sounded worse for Paul Simon, who says he has lost most of his hearing in one of his ears and may never be able to perform live again. The singer-songwriter of Simon & Garfunkel fame told the UK outlet The Times that the sudden deafness occurred while still writing music for his new album 'Seven Psalms.'

“Quite suddenly, I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it,” he said. “So everything became more difficult.” He added that his immediate reaction was not panic or anger but rather "frustration and annoyance," only, he said, “because I thought it would pass, it would repair itself.” Unfortunately, that has not been the case and the legendary singer has questioned whether he'll ever be able to perform live again.

The following musicians all live for their art, but their art definitely has its downsides. Many of these artists experience hearing problems due to their exposure to high sound volumes, and some have even lost their hearing altogether. Chris Martin, Noel Gallagher, and Will.i.am are just a few examples of artists that have struggled with gradual hearing loss, even though it hasn't stopped them from continuing their careers. Click on and check out our surprising list of musicians with hearing problems.