Gary Numan has opened up about his hearing loss, revealing he is largely deaf.
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During a recent appearance on the I’m ADHD! No You’re Not podcast, Numan pointed out his hearing aids, telling hosts Paul Whitehouse and Dr. Mine Conkbayir: “I’ve got hearing aids on so I can hear what you’re doing,” and saying he was “90 per cent deaf”.
When Whitehouse joked that Numan’s ears were “done” from plugging into Les Pauls and amplifiers at “maximum volume” for 50 years, Numan agreed, noting that the hearing loss was one of the factors that eventually ended his hobby of display flying.
According to a report by the Hearing Health Foundation, musicians are four times more likely to develop noise-induced hearing loss when compared to the general public because of repeated exposure to loud sounds, and are 57 per cent more likely to develop tinnitus.
Another survey done by charity Help Musicians further found that 40 per cent of professional musicians across a range of genres have experienced some type of hearing loss as a direct result of their work.
Many hearing health charities advise that noise-induced hearing loss is preventable – and you can visit here for more information on how to access affordable hearing protection.
With ever-developing audio technology, musicians suffering hearing loss are able to continue working and touring, and later this year, Numan is set to play a huge show at London’s Crystal Palace Park as part of a new festival series dubbed ‘Palace Bowl Presents’.
He will be taking to the stage on Sunday August 6, and will perform classic tracks from across his discography, including ‘Cars’ and ‘M.E.’. Joining him on the night are Marc Almond, who will be performing the songs of Soft Cell and solo tracks, as well as Ladytron.
For Numan, the slot comes on the heels of his 45th anniversary tour for the album ‘Telekon’, which he embarked on at the end of last year.
During one of the shows, the singer broke down in tears during his set. His wife Gemma O’Neill came on stage to comfort him, while Numan himself told fans that he’d been given “the worst news ever” that morning and was still trying to come to terms with it.
He would later share a moving post on social media, revealing to fans the tragic news that his brother, John Webb, had died suddenly over that weekend. In the update, Numan said that the post was “not a tribute” because “I can barely think straight enough to find the words for this let alone a fitting and deserving tribute to someone I loved more than the world, those words will come in time.”
He also confirmed that he was going to be continuing the tour “because my Dad thinks I should, because John’s lovely wife said John would want me to.”
