John Mellencamp isn’t ready to give up the stage, even if his hearing continues to deteriorate.
The 75-year-old rock icon revealed he could be “totally deaf” by the time his upcoming tour ends, as he opened up about his worsening hearing and tinnitus during an appearance on the “Nepo, Baby!” podcast.
“I don’t like going out ’cause I can’t hear,” Mellencamp said when asked about his hearing difficulties.
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The “Jack & Diane” singer acknowledged that years of exposure to loud rock music may have taken a toll, explaining that he experiences ringing in his ears and pulsatile tinnitus, a condition that causes him to hear his heartbeat.
“I mean, it’s like right now my ears are ringing like crazy, and I have pulsatile tinnitus, which is, I hear my heartbeat. And 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. I’m sure people don’t want to keep [repeating things] in my face … so just add tinnitus on top of that and it’s impossible.”
Pulsatile tinnitus is a rare form of tinnitus that causes people to hear sounds, such as whooshing or thumping, in time with their heartbeat, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
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Despite his hearing difficulties, Mellencamp said he plans to continue performing.
When asked whether he planned to keep touring, the musician predicted he could lose his hearing entirely by the time the concerts ended.
“Yeah, I probably will be totally deaf by the time the tour is over. Yeah, but you know, I wear earplugs and stuff, but I do not ever, will I ever get hearing aids.”
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Mellencamp also explained why he had refused to wear hearing aids, recalling advice from his grandmother that has stayed with him.
“Well, my grandmother told me, she said, ‘John, don’t ever get hearing aids because once you get them, you can’t live without them.’ So, she said, ‘If you think chasing around a pair of glasses is a drag, wait ’til you start chasing around a pair of glasses and some hearing aids. And where’s your wallet? Where’s your car keys?'”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Mellencamp for comment.
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Mellencamp has also previously used his concerts to criticize President Donald Trump.
During a July 2026 performance in Holmdel, New Jersey, he paused his performance of “Pink Houses” to mock Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to use the name Gulf of America instead of the Gulf of Mexico.
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Released in 1983, “Pink Houses” became one of Mellencamp’s signature hits, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Though often embraced as a patriotic anthem, the song offers a more complicated look at the American dream, exploring themes of class, inequality and the gap between national ideals and everyday realities.