Rocker John Mellencamp reveals he suffers from ringing in his ears and pulsatile tinnitus.
John Mellencamp thinks he will “probably be totally deaf” after he finishes touring.
The 75-year-old rocker says years of exposure to loud music have left him with ringing in his ears and pulsatile tinnitus, which, according to the Cleveland Clinic, “creates a thumping or swooshing noise in your head” and “the noise seems to keep time with your heartbeat”.
Appearing on the latest episode of the Nepo, Baby! podcast, John said: “I’ll probably be totally deaf by the time the tour’s over. I wear earplugs and stuff, but I do not ever, will I ever get hearing aids.”
John’s dislike of hearing aids stems from his grandmother.
The Jack and Diane hitmaker shared: “She said, ‘John, don’t ever get hearing aids because once you get them, you can’t live without them.’ She said, ‘If you think chasing around a pair of glasses is a drag, wait till you start chasing around a pair of glasses and some hearing aids.'”
John dislikes eating out because he “can’t hear”.
The Grammy winner added: “I mean, it’s like right now my ears are ringing like crazy, and I have pulsatile tinnitus, which is, I hear my heartbeat.
“And we go into a restaurant, and it’s just like, ‘Well, I’m out,’ because I can’t hear anything because I hear all this noise and stuff.
“I’m sure people don’t want to keep [repeating things] in my face … so just add tinnitus on top of that, and it’s impossible.”
John insisted his hearing difficulties will not stop him from performing.
The Hurts So Good star finished his 19-date, US Dancing Words Tour – The Greatest Hits, which saw him start at the Acrisure Amphitheater in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 10 and ending at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, on August 12.
John is not the only rocker to struggle with hearing loss.
In July, AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson, 79, revealed he did not damage his hearing through years of performing loud shows, but that it was actually a bout of flu contracted during the band’s 2016 tour that left him struggling.
The Thunderstruck hitmaker has to use a new piece of equipment called an ADEL (Ambrose Diaphonic Ear Lens) attached to his in-ear monitors so he can sing with the group. USA Today reported in July that Johnson’s hearing loss was attributed to a bout of flu during the band’s 2016 Rock or Bust Tour, rather than decades of performing.
Brian explained to USA Today: “We were in Winnipeg or somewhere like that and it was cold and wet and you’re sweating. But it’s freezing, and you have to quick, hurry up, get on the plane, and we took off, and my ears got so crystallised, and the rest was just nasty.
“But anyway, I’m a happy ending.”
John Mellencamp: ‘I’ll probably be totally deaf by the time the tour’s over’
