Musician and TV host Mark McGrath said in a recent interview that he is losing his hearing.
Speaking with Daily Mail after a show at the the Bellagio in Las Vegas, McGrath said that he’s basically deaf from years of performing as the frontman with the band Sugar Ray.
“I’m deaf now. I cannot hear any more,” he said after struggling to hear a question from the interviewer.
“It’s years and years of being on the road and being two feet in front of symbols and drums. So high frequencies I can’t hear anymore. I’ll be listening to people and they’ll tell me their names and I can’t hear anymore. It’s scary because my job is hearing.”
He also mentioned that singer Huey Lewis also had to stop performing due to hearing loss. Lewis revealed in 2018 that he was suffering from Meniere’s disease, an inner ear disorder.
But the 51-year-old singer said that the younger generation is smart to use devices to save their hearing.
“Fortunately for the new generation, they have in ears. I’m dumb enough not to use them though. I still need the sight sounds and smells of a concert and that includes the auditory part, but unfortunately, mine’s going.”
In ears devices are used by performers so they can hear themselves on stage. But they also block out other sounds and noises in the room or out stage.
Thursday the singer clarified his statement to say that “though I’ve definitely have some hearing loss in one ear (think of it as sight as you get older)” and that he has no plans to stop touring.
Though I’ve definitely have some hearing loss in one ear (think of it as sight as you get older), I think the inclusion of the word “symbol” is a symbol of the validity of this story…Thank you to those who are concerned, and I look forward to rockin’ stages around the world..?? https://t.co/fhTrKqDcEo
— Mark McGrath (@mark_mcgrath) April 4, 2019
McGrath and Sugar Ray has dates booked through the summer, but no shows in the Pittsburgh-area.
The band’s first hit was “Fly” from 1997.
