Paul Simon Shares Health Update That May Prevent Him From Performing

Paul Simon—one-half of Simon and Garfunkle—revealed in a new interview with the U.K.’s The Times that he may not be able to continue performing.

The singer-songwriter recently lost a significant amount of hearing in his left ear, which has greatly affected his ability to play live music.

“Quite suddenly, I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it,” he shared, noting that the loss occurred while he was in the beginning stages of writing music for his new album, Seven Psalms. “So everything became more difficult.”

The 81-year-old was riddled with “frustration and annoyance” over his new condition in the beginning, rather than anger, because he believed it was temporary. "...I thought it would pass, it would repair itself,” he said.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Today, the famed musician wonders if returning to the stage will ever be possible, though there are enough songs he no longer enjoys performing that it doesn't sound like that would be the worst thing, in his book.

“The songs of mine that I don’t want to sing live, I don’t sing them. Sometimes there are songs that I like and then at a certain point in a tour, I’ll say, ‘What the f--k are you doing, Paul?’” he said. “Quite often that would come during ‘You Can Call Me Al.’ I’d think, ‘What are you doing? You’re like a Paul Simon cover band. You should get off the road, go home.'”

Simon also revealed that he has been feeling the lasting effects of Covid, which "has left him physically frail.”

“Boy, have I been beaten up in these last couple of years,” he said, per The Hollywood Reporter, before joking, “But I look good, right?”