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.”
Simon started playing over 60 years ago. The damage is cumulative and you don’t have to be playing metal or hard rock. Just standing in front of a drummer for a few thousand shows can do it.
For now, the 73-year-old is finding the positive in his current reality. Although he can’t sing, perform or listen to music, his hearing aids allow him to have conversations without any problems.
(Huey's a heckuva golfer, by the way. I'm sure turning down the noise helps with distractions once in awhile).
Have you tried that treatment on Reddit for tinnitus?
Place the palms of your hands over your ears with fingers resting gently on the back of your head. Your middle fingers should point toward one another just above the base of your skull. Place your index fingers on top of you middle fingers and snap them (the index fingers) onto the skull making a loud, drumming noise. Repeat 40-50 times. Some people experience immediate relief with this method. Repeat several times a day for as long as necessary to reduce tinnitus.Dr. Jan Strydom, of A2Z of Health, Beauty and Fintess.org.
Because it reminds him of Chevy Chase?
Beethoven wrote some of the most incredible music ever created by humanity when he was stone cold deaf.
Chevy Chase blowing a trumpet in Paul’s ear probably didn’t help.
In any large venue for most styles of music the stage levels can be loud. Between the instruments, individual monitors and main power amps the decibel level can hit easily damaging levels. Elvis was suffering hearing loss from stage levels.
Because it is not the true. He said it was caused by an autoimmune disease.
The antagonist of Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio” is a child who discovers his homosexuality with an older friend “down at the schoolyard.” Mickey Mantle, seen in the video, didn’t get it. But the kid befriends a “radical preacher” who was “on the cover of Newsweek,” evidently referencing the Boston Catholic priest associated with NAMBLA whose support from the media kept him from being removed from the ministry despite widespread indications he was regularly having sex with runaway boys.
Not OK, Paul.
I don’t get what homosexuality has to do with it. Daniel or Phillip Berrigan, the referenced priest(s), has to do with anti-war politics and stuff like that, aren’t gay, or weren’t even talking about it then. And they weren’t from Boston.
He should retire, at least as a performer, he can’t sing anymore.
The song is about Julio and his friend doing something they enjoyed together. If Simon said this has something to do with anti-war politics, he flat out lied. Rock stars lie about their song lyrics a LOT, like when Blue Oyster Cult insisted that Don’t Fear the Reaper wasn’t about suicide.
Yes. You absolutely nailed it. But also because Chevy Chase ia actually Jim Morrison ("deceased" lead singer for The Doors). So both stoned and an a@@##0LE
I have it also, a constant ringing in my ears. I attribute it to mortar and 106 rounds back in the day. We never used ear protection those days.
The drummer afflicts others, not themselves. Worse, they play as loud as they want which forces the other musicians to turn up the amps and then suffer.
Hey, Beethoven was totally deaf, and he didn’t stop composing.
Could cause the problem, not did.
He simply got tired of fans requesting his song about Artificial Intelligence …
Okay, I'll ask. I would they know?
A musician would be well served to develop the skill of audiation. Music “schools” should be roundly criticized for not teaching this skill.
The reason that “educators” ignore teaching audiation is because they aren’t smart enough to grade it.
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