John Mellencamp Makes Troubling Admission About His Hearing After Decades of Rock ’n’ Roll

John Mellencamp is opening up about a health struggle. During an appearance on the Nepo, Baby! podcast, the rocker revealed he’s been dealing with hearing issues.

“I’ll probably be totally deaf by the time the tour’s over,” Mellencamp said. “I wear earplugs and stuff, but I do not ever, will I ever get hearing aids.”

As for why he’s opposed to hearing aids, Mellencamp said that’s all due to his grandmother.

“She said, ‘John, don’t ever get hearing aids because once you get them, you can’t live without them,’” he recalled. “She said, ‘If you think chasing around a pair of glasses is a drag, wait till you start chasing around a pair of glasses and some hearing aids.’”

Since he’s resisting hearing aids, Mellencamp’s day-to-day life has been impacted by his audial issues.

“I don’t like going out [to eat] ‘cause I can’t hear,” he said. “Right now, my ears are ringing like crazy and I have pulsatile tinnitus, which is I hear my heartbeat.”

“We go into a restaurant and it’s just like, ‘Well, I’m out.’ Because I can’t hear anything, because I hear all this noise and stuff,” Mellencamp continued. “I’m sure people don’t want to keep [yelling] in my face or… so just add tinnitus on top of that and it’s impossible.”

John Mellencamp’s Daughter’s Health Issues

Mellencamp isn’t the only member of his family who is dealing with health issues.

His daughter, Teddi Mellencamp, is currently battling stage 4 melanoma, for which she’s undergone brain surgery.

In recent posts to her Instagram Story, the rocker’s daughter said she’s dealing with shakiness among other symptoms.

“I’m not good with numbers. I can’t write. It’s hard for me to see,” she said. “All post-having-my-brain surgeries. That being said, I don’t want to keep feeling sorry for myself because that is what’s happening, and then I quit. So, I just want to feel OK being back in my skin again.”

To that end, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum decided to start working out again for the first time in years.

“I don’t care about becoming the old me again bc she wasn’t happy,” Mellencamp wrote alongside an old photo of herself and a new pic. “But [I] am excited to see where my new journey will take me.”

Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images