Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath Is Losing His Hearing

Health & FitnessDecember 8, 2021

If you were listening to a playlist of all the 90s hits, it wouldn’t be complete without songs from the band ‘Sugar Ray’. The band’s frontman, Mark McGrath, sure gave their song a unique take with his husky voice. Some of the band’s famous hits include Someday, Every Morning, and Fly. Recently McGrath revealed very sad news – that he’s going deaf from many years of intense live performances with the band. McGrath did exactly say he is “deaf now”, because of many years on the road hearing nothing but high frequency sounds of drums, cymbals and amplifiers.

According to the 51-year-old, he has been given doctor’s advice to make use of hearing aids so as not to cause further damage. McGrath recently participated in CBS’ 2018 Celebrity edition of the reality show Big Brother, where he made it to the finals. He admits to feeling scared about what he was going through when he found out, especially when he learned that a similar thing happened to singer Huey Lewis, who retired from singing because of hearing loss.

The condition is apparently common to musicians, because they are always exposed to venues with extremely loud music that can damage a person’s hearing ability. McGrath spent three decades of his life performing live, exposed to constant and loud sounds. Despite the sad news, the singer is still hopeful and working with specialists to somehow stop the progression of his condition.

If you are wondering what the fate of other people is, who are also exposed to loud sounds while performing, such as hot favorites like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Justin Timberlake, there is a device called ‘in ears’ that can be used to protect the ears of musical performers while they are on stage. It’s too late for McGrath, who regrets not using them, because he is traditional and wants to hear music straight from the amplifiers. He said he needed to be in touch with his surroundings, the smell, the touch, and the sound from the concert hall or venue to perform better.