Rush Limbaugh tells listeners he's nearly deaf

AP Television WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Radio commentator Rush Limbaugh told listeners Monday that he's virtually deaf but that he wants to continue his nationally syndicated talk show.

Limbaugh said he noticed in May that he had trouble hearing in his left ear. He said it had progressively worsened to the point where he is totally deaf in that ear. He has partial hearing in his right ear, he said.

"I can occasionally talk to people in person one on one if their voice frequency happens to fit the range that I can still hear, but I cannot hear radio," he said. "I cannot hear television. I cannot hear music. I am, for all practical purposes, deaf -- and it's happened in three months."

This summer, Limbaugh renewed his contract with the Premiere Radio Networks through 2009, reportedly for the highest price ever in radio syndication. Through his call-in show and a 90-second radio commentary, he reaches some 20 million listeners on nearly 600 stations.

Limbaugh, 50, has been doing his conservative-themed radio show for 14 years.

Representatives from Premiere Radio Networks did not immediately return a call for comment Monday.

Limbaugh said his hearing loss is not genetic. He said doctors have a theory about why he's gone deaf, "but I'm going to keep that to myself."

He said he wants to continue his show, and is experimenting with ways that he can still communicate with telephone callers. If that doesn't work, he may do the show without callers.

"All I've lost is my ability to hear," he said, "but it doesn't mean I've lost my ability to communicate. Those are two different things, given the technological advances we have in this country today."