Huey Lewis says he ‘can’t hear music’ after severe hearing loss

The Grammy-winner says he’s ‘not going to give up’ hope that he might enjoy music again

Huey Lewis has revealed that he can no longer hear music due to severe hearing loss.

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, 74, was diagnosed with Ménière's disease in 2018. The inner ear disorder can cause severe dizziness, tinnitus and hearing loss.

Speaking to People, Lewis said he had surgery to help deal with the condition.

"I'm no spring chicken, so something's going to happen at some point and this is my cross to bear,” said Lewis.

“I have a cochlear implant in my head that now enables me to hear speech much better. I lost bilaterally, my hearing ... the intense vertigo — knock on wood — I have kind of outgrown. I'm mildly dizzy all the time, and my hearing just went to zero.

Huey Lewis in New York in April 2019 (Manny Carabel/Getty Images)

“And now I have a cochlear implant, so I'm much better that way, but I can't hear music.”

Lewis lamented the loss of music in his life, saying: “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.”

He described performing and recording as “the best feeling in the world” but added: “I’m never going to get there. I mean, I might get to where I can try to, and I'm not going to give up. I'm going to try. But geez, that kind of fun, that kind of great ride. I doubt I'm ever going to see that ... feel that again.”

Earlier this week, Lewis took part in an appeal by the cast of Back to the Future to track down the iconic Cherry Red Gibson ES-345 guitar used in the film.

Lewis and his band Huey Lewis and the News performed the soundtrack's headline song “The Power of Love”.

As the movie commemorates its 40th anniversary, Gibson is producing a documentary, Lost to the Future, chronicling the search for the elusive guitar and the film's legacy.

In the film, Michael J Fox’s Marty McFly steps in for an injured band member at the 1955 school dance with the theme “Enchantment under the Sea”, playing the guitar as students slow dance to “Earth Angel”.

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He then leads Marvin Berry and the Starlighters in a rendition of “Johnny B. Goode”, calling it an oldie where he comes was from even though the 1958 song doesn't exist yet for his audience.

Fox said he wanted McFly to riff through his favorite guitarists' signature styles – Jimi Hendrix behind the head, Pete Townshend's windmill and the Eddie Van Halen hammer. After digging and dancing to “Johnny B. Goode”, the students at the dance fall into an awkward silence as McFly's riffs turn increasingly wild.

“I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet,” McFly says. “But your kids are gonna love it.”