On May 19,  Paul Simon dropped his 33-minute, seven-movement composition called Seven Psalms. The celebrated musician followed up with an interview in The Sunday Times, where he unveiled he is suffering from mysterious hearing loss, making it difficult to perform in front of a live audience. 

“Quite suddenly, I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it. So everything became more difficult,” Simon offered in conversation with The Sunday Times. “My reaction to that was frustration and annoyance; not quite anger yet, because I thought it would pass, it would repair itself.” 

The 81-year-old singer stepped away from the road in 2018, although he has made brief appearances since, including at last summer’s Newport Folk Festival gathering, where the artist performed four tunes.

Despite Simon’s stage time last summer, he has also encountered multiple health challenges in recent years, including exposure to COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic. “Boy, have I been beaten up in these last couple of years,” Simon added during his interview.

Learn more about Simon’s latest project, Seven Psalms, here.