Huey Lewis Discusses Hearing Loss: 'I Can't Hear Music At All'

It’s been 35 years since Huey Lewis, of Huey Lewis And The News fame, began losing his hearing. Now, he’s completely deaf without hearing aids.

In a far-reaching new interview with Songfacts, the songwriter, producer, and vocalist discussed the 40th anniversary of the band’s groundbreaking album, Sports, songwriting, and life-changing hearing loss.

You know Huey Lewis as the voice behind the hits Hip To Be Square, The Power Of Love, Heart And Soul, I Want A New Drug, and many more, but did you ever expect the man to be so calm about hearing loss?

“I can't hear music at all. I can't hear pitch at all. Even one note is out of tune with itself for me, so that's been a bitter pill and a hard pill to swallow,” Lewis explained to Songfacts’ Greg Prato. “But you've got to move on in life. I have hearing aids in, and I'm Bluetoothing to the computer so I can hear you now. Without my hearing aids, I'm completely deaf.”

Lewis said about the early days of his hearing loss, “I lost my right side [of hearing] 35 years ago. When I lost my left side and couldn't hear music anymore, it was traumatic. It was six months of pretty much lying in bed, just worrying, and trying different protocols and acupuncture and chiropractic and all-organic diets – no salt, low salt, all that stuff. And finally, thanks to my kids, you've got to move on.”

Lewis moved on by staying creative and busy, including by being “very involved” with the musical The Heart of Rock & Roll, even if he couldn’t hear the music. The musical features Huey Lewis And The News songs. He continued, “I have a television show that I've sold the idea to Fox, but we're stuck with a writers' strike now.

“I try to stay creative and busy. I remind myself that there are many, many others much worse off, and that's important to remember. My life is not as good as it used to be when I could hear, but it's still pretty good.”

Huey Lewis And The News are celebrating 40 years of Sports, with the vinyl LPs expected to ship tomorrow (15 September). You can order your vinyl copy here.

Just one of five albums to get to #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in 1984 – Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the Footloose soundtrack, Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA and Prince’s Purple Rain also shared that spot – Sports remains a life-affirming release from Huey Lewis And The News.