Paul Simon Talks About Hearing Loss in His Left Ear: 'I Can't Hear My Voice' If Instruments Are Too Loud

Mar. 15, 2025

Paul Simon.Photo:Myrna M. Suarez/WireImage

Myrna M. Suarez/WireImage

Paul Simonis speaking candidly about his hearing loss.

“That’s come back to enough of a degree that I’m comfortable singing and playing guitar and playing a few other instruments,” Simon said of his hearing. “That’s good. I can hear my voice the way I want it in the context of the music.”

However, Simon went on to share that if there’s an instrument that’s too noisy then he struggles to perform.

“If there’s a drum or an electric guitar, it’s too loud and I can’t hear my voice,” he explained to Colbert, who is deaf in his right ear. “But when I first lost the hearing, I couldn’t get — it threw me off. Everything was coming from this side. But you know what I’m talking [about].”

Paul Simon speaks to Stephen Colbert in New York City.Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

TheSimon & Garfunkelco-founderfirst revealed his hearing lossin May 2023 during an interview withThe Times.

“Quite suddenly I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it,” he told the publication. “So everything became more difficult. My reaction to that was frustration and annoyance; not quite anger yet, because I thought it would pass, it would repair itself.”

The 16-time Grammy-winning singer shared that he lost his hearing while working on his most recent album,Seven Psalms,which was released on May 19, 2023.

Paul Simon.Rob Ball/WireImage

Rob Ball/WireImage

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“I haven’t accepted it entirely, but I’m beginning to,” Simon told the audience in a Q&A after the screening, perThe Guardian.

“I play the guitar every day. It’s the instrument that allows me to express myself creatively. But it’s also where I go for solace. If I’m feeling … ‘whatever’. So it’s a very crucial thing to me,” the performer said. “You know, something happens to you when you have some sort of disability that changes your awareness or changes how you interact with life.”

source: people.com