The band Sugar Ray (from www.MarkMcGrath.com)
By Raechal Shewfelt, Yahoo Music | Mark McGrath continues to tour with his band Sugar Ray, just as he did in the ‘90s, but these days he does it with a hearing problem.
The singer revealed to DailyMailTV that years of rock concerts have damaged his ability to hear the music he’s making or anything else. He’s working with specialists to slow down the hearing loss.
“It’s years and years of being on the road and being two feet in front of symbols and drums. So high frequencies I can’t hear anymore,” McGrath, 51, said after a gig at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. “I’ll be listening to people and they’ll tell me their names and I can’t hear anymore. It’s scary because my job is hearing.”
The news outlet noted that after McGrath struggled to hear a question put to him, he said, “I’m deaf now. I cannot hear anymore.”
McGrath apparently maintains enough of his hearing to keep performing, though. He said doctors have instructed him to wear in-ear devices, as many other artists do, to help protect himself when he takes the stage. So far, McGrath isn’t sold on the idea.
“Fortunately for the new generation, they have in-ears. I’m dumb enough not to use them though. I still need the [sights,] sounds and smells of a concert, and that includes the auditory part, but unfortunately, mine’s going,” McGrath said.
The “When It’s Over” singer said he worries about his future, even though the whole reason he wanted to work in the entertainment industry to start with is to escape worries about business and health. He just wanted to party.
“As I get older, my health’s going, I have knee problems, back problems. So I am working on the hearing now,” McGrath said. “It’s something that recently last year my doctor said, ‘You’ve got to step back a little bit,’ and the whole Huey Lewis thing has been a warning for all of this for sure.”
Lewis announced in April 2018 that he was canceling all future shows, including a scheduled tour, after being diagnosed with the inner ear disorder of Meniere’s disease. He couldn’t hear the music well enough to sing.