Dave Grohl has spoken candidly about his hearing problem.

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The Foo Fighters Frontman appeared on The Howard Stern Show on Tuesday to promote rock band Studio 666’s horror movie. But midway through the interview, the conversation turned to how the musician’s hearing has been damaged by his rock concert appearances since the late ’80s.

“My ears always tune to certain frequencies,” the musician explained, noting that he can hear well in the recording studio, but finds it difficult in social settings. “If you were sitting next to me here at a dinner party, I wouldn’t understand a word you said to me,” he added.

He explained that the worst in this epidemic is the masks. I’ve been lip reading for 20 years. So when someone comes up to me and (speaks), I tell them, “I’m a rock musician. I’m deaf, and I can’t hear anything you say.”

Dave Grohl went on to tell us that he’s been diagnosed with tinnitus and hearing damage, and that the whole thing is worse for his left ear than the right. Although he can wear earplugs on stage, he says they will only be an annoyance to him.

“I want to be able to hear the audience in front of me, and I want to be able to turn around and hear Taylor (Hawkins, the drummer) there. I’ve had the same kind of screen for 31 years. It’s in my head. So even though I don’t use earphones, The sound on stage is perfect for me,” the 53-year-old continued. “I have little holes in the ear and when I put these things on they just pop out. I don’t want to look like a mantis with these things on my head. I just want to go in there and give it my all,” he explained.

Studio 666 is scheduled to launch on February 25 in Canada and the United States.