Photo by: Gabe Ginsberg/Stringer
R&B singer and songwriter, Tank is known to be transparent when talking about going deaf in his right ear.
Sitting down with the daytime television show, The Real the 45-year-old singer shares his overall experience and his update.
Photo by: Paras Griffin/ Contributor
“To give you an update I am still deaf in my right ear but the left ear is pretty strong. The left ear is like picking up the slack,” says Babbs.
Noticing the change within his hearing on a movie set, Babbs initially thought that his right ear was “clogged up.”
“Over the next three days, it just goes from feeling like something I can handle to something I can’t,” states the R&B singer.
This past May, Babbs shared his “scary” experience with fans on Instagram with a now-deleted video post. At first, he stated that not only was he losing his hearing in his right ear, but he was also losing sound in his left ear, was experiencing the symptoms of dizziness, and wasn’t able to walk straight as well.
Photo by: Jeff Hahne/ Contributor
“The Please Don’t Go” singer was prescribed Prednisone, an oral steroid to restore his hearing loss.
“Anybody that knows anything about prednisone, you know that that’s a very, very damaging steroid,” Tank expresses. “So, I wasn’t myself for a long time.”
Although the oral steroid, is used to help with hearing loss, it has major side effects. These serious side effects include mood changes, weight gain, seizures, sore throats, etc.
“Being able to get off of that medicine and just cope with the idea that ‘Hey, I may just have one ear from now on and finding the balance there and finding the strength to move from there was actually better for me,” the songwriter states.
Photo by: Paras Griffin/Stringer
Looking on the more positive side of his situation, Babbs is back to performing and continuing to move on.
“Now I’m on stages, I’m back in the streets, and I’m able to do what I do with this one ear and I’m blessed to still be able to, man,” Babbs exclaims. “It could’ve been so much worse.”
Deciding to make his next album, “R&B Money” his last one, Babbs plans on retiring. Babbs shares that he is deciding to retire from making music because there are other opportunities that he’d like to explore.
Encouraging his fans to give him his flowers now, Babbs urges fans not to celebrate his legacy until he is further disabled.
“If you like my music … or you like my acting or my comedy or whatever, say it now” Babbs expresses. “Don’t wait till I’m deaf or in a wheelchair because I can’t walk in a straight line. I want to be able to celebrate and dance right now.”
Tell us what is your favorite Tank song and if you’d be purchasing his next album down below!
Like TV One on Facebook and be sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
