Paul Simon says he’s ‘optimistic’ about returning to the stage after hearing loss

Paul Simon confessed that he is “optimistic” about a possible return to the stage after the almost total loss of hearing in his left ear. In September last year, he stated that he “accepted” his condition, but was looking for solutions to return to playing live.

“I still haven’t figured out how to present myself with hearing loss,” he said. Simon in an interview with the magazine Mojo in July (via NME). “I tried rehearsing with some guys in my touring band, to see if I could handle it. I can’t.”

Already at the premiere of the documentary In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simonthe musician revealed that his hearing has returned “to a sufficient degree to sing, play the guitar and some other instruments comfortably.”

In an interview with The Guardian published last Friday, 4th, Simon said he hopes he can “eventually do a full show” and is “optimistic” after playing seven songs alongside other artists for the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss — his longest performance in five years (via NME).

Despite the achievement, Simon admitted that “he was pessimistic six months ago”. He lost his hearing while recording his 15th studio album, Seven Psalms (2023).

“You are in denial and overwhelmed by this change in your life, because you now have a disability. But even though it was no longer pleasurable, I started to think that this was new information that I needed to absorb in the work. I started focusing on the sounds, not computers or synthesizers, but acoustic instruments used in unusual ways,” he said.