Sir Paul McCartney opens up about hearing struggles and funny misunderstandings

Sir Paul McCartney has opened up about his hearing struggles, admitting that his “dodgy” hearing has occasionally led to funny misunderstandings with his wife Nancy Shevell.

The 83-year-old Beatles legend explained that while his hearing is generally good, he sometimes misses parts of conversations, which can create confusion during everyday moments.

Speaking at an event in London with comedian Rob Brydon, McCartney recalled one instance when he misunderstood something Shevell said and took the conversation in a completely different direction.

“My hearing can be dodgy. It’s pretty good but sometimes, you know, what happens is you miss little bits of words so it can get weird,” he said.

McCartney joked that his wife had been discussing something simple, but he misheard her words and brought up a completely unrelated name.

“I was talking to Nancy one time and it turns out she was talking about food or something but I misheard it and I said, ‘What’s Sid Bernstein got to do with it?’” he recalled.

“Anyway, she wasn’t talking about Sid Bernstein.”

The musician also reflected on how his perspective on ageing has changed over the years, saying he now understands that some older people may simply struggle to hear rather than fail to understand conversations.

“When I wrote When I’m 64, I was thinking, ‘64? Oh, my God, that’s so old.’ And then I go, oh, I’m 64. Oh, now I’m 74 and now I’m going to be 84,” he said.

McCartney said he continues to focus on maintaining his health, crediting his vegetarian lifestyle and regular exercise for helping him stay active.

“These days, I do a bit of exercise. You know, whereas at school, I hated physical education. Now I go to the gym, do a bit of Pilates. It’s good,” he shared.

The singer-songwriter is also celebrating another career milestone after his album The Boys of Dungeon Lane reached number one in the UK charts, marking his 24th UK number one album.

McCartney said he was delighted by the response from fans and appreciated the support behind the record.

“Yeah, we are well chuffed,” he said. “If you do something, you want people to like it, and if people like it enough to send it to number one, you know they like it.”

The music icon previously explained that he prefers to think of creating music as a passion rather than work, describing himself as a “playaholic.”

Speaking to Zane Lowe for Apple Music, McCartney said: “People say, ‘Oh you’re a workaholic’ and I say, ‘We don’t work music, we play it, so I’m a playaholic!’”

He added that he dislikes when making music starts to feel like a job, continuing to approach creativity with the same enthusiasm he has had throughout his legendary career.