Posted on 11/20/2024 2:56:00 PM PST by nickcarraway
Paul Simon has abandoned one of his biggest hits, a decision that was entirely out of his control.
The acclaimed singer-songwriter, now 83 years old, has been open about his ongoing battle with hearing loss. While the condition has forced him to retire from touring, Simon has continued performing occasional concerts.
During a recent conversation with CBS Mornings, the musician explained how he manages his condition – and why it made him retire one of his most popular songs.
“There’s only about 6% [hearing] in my left ear,” Simon explained, noting how he has to use multiple monitors during performances. “When the balance is right, I can hear well.”
The condition has also affected his setlist decisions.
“I’m going through my repertoire and reducing a lot of the choices I make to acoustic versions,” he noted. “It’s all much quieter. It’s not ‘You Can Call Me Al.’ That’s gone. I can’t do that one.”
Paul Simon Working With Leading Scientists on Hearing Loss
Though Simon called his condition “incredibly frustrating,” he has a renewed sense of hope thanks to research being conducted at Stanford University. There, a team of scientists are working to reverse the affects of hearing loss, and their progress has been substantial.
The CBS Mornings segment highlighted two notable success stories. In one, scientists were able to restore hearing for zebrafish that had previously been deaf. In another, Stanford’s team were able to regenerate hair cells in mice (both animals have similar inner ear structures to humans). Simon admitted their progress “gives me hope that there is some significant improvement on the horizon.”
In the meantime, the musician – whose most recent album, Seven Psalms, was released in 2023 – will continue doing what he can.
“I don’t think creativity stops with disability,” Simon explained. “So far, I haven’t experienced that. And I hope not to.”
At least we have top men working on it now.
He’s just not listening...
He just hears the sound of silence.
Is she saying smile on a dog? I always thought it was a smile on a doll?
So, it’s not because his name is actually Paul, and calling him “Al” is just silly.
It’s a shame about his hearing loss.
Thank you! I didn’t know if anyone would get that.
synthetic heroine (oxycotin) causes hearing loss.
Just ask Rush.
Heroin
She does make some folks quite relieved...
[Thanks]
They’ve got seeing eye and chewing mouth dogs.
Why can’t they come up with a hearing ear dog?
Paul has lost his voice. He can’t sing anymore.
A shame a musician of his caliber to lose any hearing. I have tinnitus, but no lose of hearing in any ear as yet at 74. I can still hear the sizzle of a high-hat (I’m a drummer) and all lower frequencies. Although I’ve been in bands much of my life and currently listen to my CD’s at high volume, my hearing is better than my wife’s who is years younger. Weird.
Because Chevy Chase is a dick?
Bad joke, but I get it. I believe it is the best song he ever wrote. I still love that song from my youth. It was the deciding factor whether to play bass or drums. Both had such cool melodic rifts. I chose drums.
I have tinnitus. I called the tinnitus help hotline to see what they could do, but it just kept ringing.
I never heard Simon was on junk. Is that true?
If this is true, hearing loss should be skyrocketing, because fentanyl is much stronger than oxycodone, or heroin for that matter.
Bass fiddle or bass guitar? And as far as choosing between a bass guitar and drums it seems to me that drums would be a whole lot easier than any form of guitar.
Rush stated that after his first cochlear implant, any new music was just noise. Songs he knew very well sounded just as he remembered them. Something about the mind filling in what the implant did not.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.