...your tagline is awesome. I assume you take no prisoners.
2000s
Deafness
By August 2001, Limbaugh's listeners had noted changes in his voice and diction [25], changes that Limbaugh emphatically denied on the air. However, on October 8, 2001, Limbaugh admitted that the changes in his voice were due to complete deafness in his left ear and substantial hearing loss in his right ear. He also revealed that his radio staff was aiding him in continuing to accept calls on his show, despite his rapidly progressing hearing loss, by setting up a system where he could appear to hear his callers.
The system worked remarkably well, but did not convince all listeners, some of whom noted a long delay between a caller ending his point and Limbaugh responding, and occasionally speaking over a caller. Occasionally Limbaugh had to ask callers to hold on momentarily, while the caller's comments would be transcripted and shown on Rush's computer monitor.
In December 2001, Limbaugh underwent cochlear implant surgery, which restored a measure of hearing in his left ear, and his voice and enunciation improved.
According to Limbaugh's doctors, Limbaugh's deafness was caused by an autoimmune disease. When Limbaugh revealed [26] in 2003 that he was addicted to pain killers, some doctors drew a link between his deafness and his drug addiction that resulted from the medication Limbaugh was prescribed to alleviate his chronic back-pain.
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