Dave Grohl has spoken candidly about his experience of hearing loss.
The Foo Fighters frontman made an appearance on The Howard Stern Show on Tuesday to promote the band's new supernatural horror movie, Studio 666.
But partway through the interview, the conversation turned to the way in which Dave's hearing has been damaged as a result of him performing at live rock concerts since the late '80s.
"My ears are still tuned to certain frequencies," the musician explained, noting that he can hear perfecting in the recording studio but finds social settings more difficult. "If you were sitting next to me right here at dinner, I wouldn't understand a f**king word you were saying to me the whole f**king time. The worst thing about the pandemic is people wearing masks. I've been reading lips for like 20 years. So, when someone comes up to me and (speaks) I'm like, 'I'm a rock musician. I'm f**king deaf. I can't hear what you're saying.'"
Dave went on to share that he has been diagnosed with tinnitus and hearing damage, with his left ear worse than the right.
And while he could wear earplugs on stage, he is adamant they would simply be a hindrance to him.
"I want to be able to hear the audience in front of me, and I want to be able to turn around and hear Taylor (Hawkins, drummer) right there. I've had the same monitor guy for 31 years. He's in my head. So, even though I'm not using in-ear monitors, the sound on stage for me is f**king perfect," the 53-year-old continued. "I have little f**king earholes and when I put those things (in) they just pop out. And I don't want to look like a praying mantis with, you know, these things all over my head. I just want to go out there and go nuts."
Studio 666 is set to be released on Friday.
