Billy Joel is sharing a health update after announcing that he had been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus last year.
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he → share → hydrocephalus
On Thursday, the 77-year-old singer told The Hollywood Reporter that he’s not allowed to drive at the moment.
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he → tell → moment
When asked if he would be performing again, Joel said, “I have to take a series of tests before I know.”
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I → ask → tests
“I can’t drive right now.
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I → drive → ?
I’m not allowed to drive,” he said, before sharing that his doctors have advised him against performing.
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doctors → allow → him
“I have this thing called hydrocephalus.
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I → have → thing
It used to be called water on the brain, so it affects your balance, it affects your memory, it affects your vision, your hearing,” Joel continued.
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Joel → use → vision
“But I’m OK.
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I → ’m → ?
They call it a brain disorder, but it’s not that serious.
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it → call → it
It’s just something that affects your balance mostly.”
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that → ’ → balance
“What the neurologist told me, every time you do a show, it’s like you’re getting a concussion,” Joel added.
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Joel → tell → concussion
He said that the combination of extreme sound volume, lighting, stress and energy was the main concern for taking the stage again.
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combination → say → stage
Rock ‘n’ roll made me deaf already,” the Vienna singer said.
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singer → make → ?
“There’s a lot going on when you’re onstage.
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you → ’ → ?
And they said, ‘Well, you really shouldn’t be doing that right now.’
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you → say → that
So they have to test me further to see if I can go back and do performing again, which I would like to be able to do.”
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I → have → which
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Joel shared that he is auctioning more than 70 motorcycles from his personal collection in Gooding Christie’s auction from Nov. 20-21 at the Javits Center in New York City.
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he → get → City
“I was not a collector,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
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he → tell → Reporter
So I figured it was just time to let it go.”
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it → figure → ?
The Piano Man singer said now that he’s in his 70s, he’s realized he can’t ride as much as he used to.
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he → say → 70s
“I don’t want to die like a bug on a windshield.
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I → want → windshield
So I thought I’d put a lot of them on auction,” he said of his motorcycles, adding, “And also I have a condition called hydrocephalus, which makes driving a little bit iffy.
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driving → think → condition
So I realized it’s time for me to turn it over to somebody else.
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me → realize → somebody
Last month, Joel said that he was doing better after brain surgery, which helped relieve some of the symptoms of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).
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which → say → hydrocephalus
“I just want people to know, don’t worry about me.
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people → want → me
I’m not going anywhere.
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I → go → ?
I’m here.
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I → ’m → ?
I’m still here,” he said on SiriusXM’s Billy Joel channel, adding that he’s “OK.”
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he → ’m → channel
The Uptown Girl singer said that his neurologist recommended he have a shunt implanted in his brain so that his condition did not continue to get worse.
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condition → say → brain
Joel said he initially didn’t want to have the surgery but he realized it could help him with his balance and memory.
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it → say → balance
“But then I read up on it and I realized it can help improve your balance and can help your memory,” Joel said.
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Joel → read → memory
“You know, I don’t want to lose my marbles.
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I → know → marbles
It’s hard to tell what’s age and what’s a condition, so I agreed to do the shunt and I had a surgery.”
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I → ’ → surgery
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, NPH is the result of excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulating in the brain’s ventricles, leading to cognitive issues, difficulty walking and loss of bladder control.
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fluid → accord → control
It is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease.
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It → misdiagnose → disease
The disorder primarily affects people in their 60s and 70s.
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disorder → affect → 60s
Its symptoms resemble those of dementia and can sometimes be reversible.
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symptoms → resemble → dementia
In May 2025, the We Didn’t Start the Fire singer announced he had been diagnosed with NPH and was undergoing treatment.
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he → start → treatment
A statement, shared to Joel’s social media accounts, said the condition had been “exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance.”
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condition → share → hearing
“Under his doctor’s instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period,” the statement said.
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statement → undergo → period
…and 2 more, not listed.
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