Huey Lewis says his Huey Lewis deafness condition has taken music out of his life, and he put the change plainly on the July 7 episode of the Inside of You podcast. He said Ménière's disease has left him unable to hear music, turning something he once lived with into something he no longer uses.
“At a certain point, you gotta face the music… I can't hear music,” Lewis said. “Music is not part of my life anymore, which is a hard pill to swallow.”
Inside of You podcast on July 7
Lewis said he was diagnosed with Ménière's disease in the mid-1990s, describing it as a condition that causes fluid to collect in the inner ear and cause damage. He said the hearing loss has gone all the way to zero, which leaves him unable to perform, sing, or play. For a singer tied to Huey Lewis and the News, that is not a side note; it is the core of the job disappearing in real time.
He also said the condition changes ordinary life as much as the stage. Lewis said he used to play music when he cooked or had people over for dinner, and that he no longer plays his collection of old big band stuff and old New Orleans jazz.
Ménière's disease and the implant
Lewis said he has a cochlear implant, but he also said it can distort voices and music. That leaves him with a partial workaround, not a return to normal listening, and it explains why he can talk about music with the memory of it intact while also saying he cannot enjoy it anymore.
He said, “Music used to be so much fun,” but the loss now makes listening frustrating rather than restorative. “I can't enjoy music. Like when I cook or have people over for dinner, I always used to play them music. And I have a great collection of old big band stuff and old New Orleans jazz and I don't play it at all anymore.”
Huey Lewis after zero hearing
Lewis said, “I’m mildly dizzy all the time, and my hearing just went to zero.” He also said, “The worst part is that means it's bad enough not to be able to perform and sing and play, but it's really bad not to even be able to enjoy music.”
For readers, the takeaway is straightforward: this is no longer a touring problem or a single bad spell. Lewis has described a permanent shift in how he hears, performs, and even fills a room at dinner, and the implant does not restore the experience he lost.
