Nearly 30 years ago, Lewis completely lost his hearing in his right ear. It “freaked” him out, but he eventually came to terms with it and adapted to relying solely on his right ear.
“And then seven years ago, my left ear failed right before a gig in New Orleans, and it was a horrible thing. I just went on a stage and I couldn’t hear anything,” Lewis recalled. “It was devastating.”
He was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease, a condition of the inner ear that causes severe vertigo and hearing loss.
For six months, Lewis tried anything he was told could improve his hearing. Renowned ENTs. Acupuncture. Chiropractic treatments. Low salt and organic diets. He exhausted all his options, and nothing cured his condition.
“I can’t identify pitch anymore. It’s very frustrating. Tonight, I’ll have a hard time recognizing the songs that are played. I will be able to, because I know the tempos, I know the beat, you know, but it’s (been) a tough pill to swallow.”
Now, when music is playing, Lewis only hears “noise distortion.”
Make all the American Psycho jokes you want, but the man was an amazing performer with a terrific voice, so this makes me really sad.
While we’re talking about movies, Huey himself was in a criminally underrated movie with an amazing cast called Duets.
But everyone heard it was about karaoke at the beginning of karaoke being a big fad in the U.S. and decided it was just some hype movie and didn’t see it, which is really too bad.
It’s actually what got me to go back over his old catalog and really give his albums a listen because I have come to love his voice.