--- title: Eric Clapton Reveals He Is Going Deaf in BBC Radio interview description: In an interview on BBC Radio 2, the award-winning guitarist spoke about how both his hearing loss and tinnitus are affecting his career. canonical: https://time.com/5101654/eric-clapton-going-deaf/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-12T21:14:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:49:45.293Z og:title: Legendary Musician Eric Clapton Reveals He Is Going Deaf og:description: "It's amazing to myself that I'm still here" og:url: https://time.com/5101654/eric-clapton-going-deaf/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf8ae875da855ae2/6988f8340a4a224c859d1661/eric-clapton-deaf.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Eric-Clapton-Deaf og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Legendary Musician Eric Clapton Reveals He Is Going Deaf twitter:description: "It's amazing to myself that I'm still here" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf8ae875da855ae2/6988f8340a4a224c859d1661/eric-clapton-deaf.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Legendary Musician Eric Clapton Reveals He Is Going Deaf  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 12, 2018 9:14 PM UTC  Eric Clapton attends the 2017 DOC NYC closing night screening of 'Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars' at SVA Theatre on November 16, 2017 in New York City. Eric Clapton attends the 2017 DOC NYC closing night screening of 'Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars' at SVA Theatre on November 16, 2017 in New York City.Mike Pont/WireImage  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 12, 2018 9:14 PM UTC Rock legend [Eric Clapton](http://time.com/4340686/justin-bieber-eric-clapton-fan/) has revealed that he is going [deaf](http://time.com/4531902/marlee-matlin-donald-trump-deaf-retarded-comment/). In a recent interview on [BBC Radio 2’s](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05t91vq) “Steve Wright in the Afternoon,” the award-winning [guitarist](http://time.com/4966157/las-vegas-shooting-josh-abbott-band-gun-control/) spoke about how both his hearing loss and [tinnitus](https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/01/the-sound-that-comes-from-nowhere/424932/) — a hearing disorder that can cause high-pitched ringing in the ears — are affecting his career. “I mean, I’m going deaf, I’ve got tinnitus, my hands just about work,” he said. “I mean, I’m hoping that people will come along and see me just because, or maybe more than because I’m a curiosity. I know that is part of it. It’s amazing to myself that I’m still here.” However, Clapton explained that he fully intends on continuing to perform. “I’m still going to work, I’m doing a few gigs, I’m doing a show in Hyde Park in July,” he said. “You know the only thing I’m concerned with now is being in my 70s and being able to be proficient.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5101654/eric-clapton-going-deaf/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5101654/eric-clapton-going-deaf/"},"headline":"Legendary Musician Eric Clapton Reveals He Is Going Deaf","datePublished":"2018-01-12T21:14:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:49:45.293Z","description":"\"It's amazing to myself that I'm still here\"","url":"https://time.com/5101654/eric-clapton-going-deaf/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities","Music","musicians"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf8ae875da855ae2/6988f8340a4a224c859d1661/eric-clapton-deaf.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf8ae875da855ae2/6988f8340a4a224c859d1661/eric-clapton-deaf.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Eric-Clapton-Deaf","caption":"Eric Clapton attends the 2017 DOC NYC closing night screening of 'Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars' at SVA Theatre on November 16, 2017 in New York City.","creditText":"Mike Pont/WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5101654/eric-clapton-going-deaf/","name":"Legendary Musician Eric Clapton Reveals He Is Going Deaf"}}]}] ```