Billy Joel offers new health update after brain disorder diagnosis
Billy Joel has said he is not “deathly ill” despite being diagnosed with the brain disorder Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH).
In May, Joel shared that he’d been diagnosed with the brain disorder, and as a result, all of his future live commitments had been cancelled. Additionally, he also missed the premiere of the new documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, at the Tribeca Film Festival in June.
The announcement came after Joel previously rearranged a number of his concerts after undergoing surgery in March. He last performed on February 22nd at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Towards the end of the concert, Joel suffered a painful fall after throwing his microphone to a member of his crew before seemingly recovering to finish the concert.
Now, during a new appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, Joel shared of his ongoing health issues, “I feel fine. My balance sucks.” He added: “It’s like being a boat… It used to be called ‘water on the brain.’ Now, it’s called Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.”
Joel then explained that medical professionals are unsure of the cause, adding, “They don’t really know. I thought it must be from drinking.” The singer-songwriter has been sober since 2021.
On a positive note, he added, “I feel good. They keep referring to what I have as a brain disorder, so it sounds a lot worse than what I’m feeling.”
Joel has also spoken to People about his condition, sharing, “I know a lot of people are worried about me and my health, but I’m okay. What I have is something very few people know about, including me, no matter how much you try to research it. I’m doing my best to work with it and to recover from it.”
Although Joel admits that he found the diagnosis to be “disturbing”, he’s relatively calm about the situation, explaining, “It was scary, but I’m okay. I just wanted to let people know, don’t worry about me being deathly ill or anything.”
Joel’s comments support remarks recently made by his close friend Howard Stern, who told listeners of The Howard Stern Show that he met the singer for dinner two weeks ago and shared a positive update on his condition.
Stern explained: “Yeah, he does have issues, but he said, ‘Yeah, you can tell people, you know, I’m not dying.’ You know, he wants people to know that. He just, he’s gotta deal with some medical stuff, but he was delightful. We had a great time with the wives. We had a great conversation. I was telling him, I’m enjoying playing classical music on the guitar.”
The first part of Billy Joel: And So It Goes is currently available to watch on HBO Max with the second half set to arrive on July 25th.
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