Paul Simon Gives Health, Touring Update After Partial Hearing Loss

Grammy-winning icon Paul Simon embarked on his farewell tour back in 2018, but the iconic singer is looking to get back on stage again. 

In a new interview with The Guardian, Simon opened up about the whirlwind health journey he's undergone in recent years and his desire to return to performing concerts. Last year, he revealed in an interview with The Times that he suddenly lost most of the hearing in his left ear while recording his 2023 album Seven Psalms. That put a lot of his music career in jeopardy. 

"It was scary, frustrating," Simon told The Guardian. "You’re in denial and then you’re overwhelmed by this change in your life because you now have a disability. But even though it wasn’t pleasurable anymore, I started to think that this was some new information that I needed to absorb into the piece. I started to focus on sounds, not from computers or synthesizers, but acoustic instruments used in unusual ways."

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While Simon stepped back from touring, he hasn't shied away from the stage entirely. Last month, he played seven songs with two guitarists at a fundraiser for the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss. It was his longest performance in five years, and could be a taste of what's tome come from the 82-year-old. 

“I’m hoping to eventually be able to do a full-length concert," he said. "I’m optimistic. Six months ago I was pessimistic."

As for him seemingly leaving music for good back in 2018, he pointed out that retirement was never on the table. 

"I never said I was going to retire," he stated plainly. "I said I was going to stop, which I did. I thought that with that band and the repertoire we were doing we’d developed it as far as we could. It was enjoyable, but I wanted to find out what happens when you stop." 

It remains to be seen just where and in what capacity Simon will perform next.