Dave Grohl has revealed that he suffers from hearing loss and has been lip reading for the last 20 years.
The Foo fighters frontman shared the news during an appearance on "The Howard Stern Show," saying that he is "deaf.
"I haven't had them tested in a long time — I mean, I know what they're gonna say," he said of getting his ears checked by a doctor. " 'You have hearing damage tinnitus in your left ear, morseo than your right ear.' "
Grohl explained that it was difficult to hear other people in public places and the COVID-19 pandemic has only compounded the issue because now, due to everyone wearing face coverings, he can no longer rely on lip-reading.
"If you were sitting next to me right here at dinner, I wouldn't understand a ... word you were saying to me, the whole ... time," he told Stern.
"There's no way. In a crowded restaurant, that's worse,” he continued. “That's the worst thing about this pandemic ..., it's like, people wearing masks. I've been reading lips for like, 20 years, so when someone comes up to me and they're like [garbled noise], I'm like, 'I'm a rock musician. I'm ... deaf, I can't hear what you're saying."
According to the American Tinnitus Association, the condition which Grohl is referring to is defined as "the perception of sound when no actual external noise is present." The association notes that, while it is commonly referred to as "ringing in the ears," tinnitus can manifest many different perceptions of sound, including buzzing, hissing, whistling, swooshing, and clicking.
"Millions of Americans experience tinnitus, often to a debilitating degree, making it one of the most common health conditions in the country," the association explains.
While Grohl's condition may come into play when he is in public spaces, it has not impacted his work. Speaking with Stern, the rocker said he's still able to hear "the slightest little things" when recording in the studio and mixing albums.
"My ears are still tuned in to certain frequencies, and if I hear something that's slightly out of tune, or a cymbal that's not bright enough or something like that, in the mix, I can ... hear the minutiae of everything that we have done to that song, I really can," he said.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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