News : Dave Grohl Has Been Reading Lips for 20 Years: ‘I’m F–king Deaf’

If you see Dave Grohl at a dinner party and want to talk to him, he probably can’t hear you. During his appearance on a recent episode of The Howard Stern Show, Foo Fighters frontman opened up about his hearing loss and how that impacts him both in his daily life and as a musician.

“I’m a rock musician, I’m f–king deaf,” he told the shock jock while discussing his tinnitus, a condition that causes hearing loss, ringing or other noises in your ear. “I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

“If you were sitting next to me right here at dinner, I wouldn’t understand a f–king word you were saying to me the whole f–king time,” the rocker admitted. “There’s no way. In a crowded restaurant – that’s the worst.”

Being in a loud restaurant may be bad, but it turns out there is something even worse, according to the rocker. “The worst thing about this pandemic s–t is people wearing masks,” he said. “I’ve been reading lips for, like, 20 years.”

In spite of his auditory issues, the 16-time Grammy winner said he hates wearing in-ear devices onstage because they mess with his spatial awareness. “I wanna hear the audience in front of me, I wanna be able to turn around and hear Taylor right there,” Grohl said, referring to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who was also a guest on the show. The rocker said he’s been working with the same sound designer for 31 years (since his Nirvana days), so the sound he hears while performing live is perfectly mixed for his ears.

As for producing music, the 53-year-old’s “ears are still tuned in to certain frequencies,” meaning he’s still able to pick up on minute sonic details — even down to the slightest differences between cymbal crashes.

Grohl and Hawkins also discussed their 2021 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The bandmates praised Paul McCartney‘s speech about them at the ceremony, during which the Beatle drew parallels between his own journey to Grohl’s trajectory from Nirvana to Foo Fighters.

Watch Dave Grohl discuss his hearing loss below.

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