Billy Joel has offered an update on his health after being diagnosed with a rare brain disorder that forced him to cancel all scheduled tour dates.
“I feel good,” Joel said on a new episode of Bill Maher’s Club Random Podcast, which you can watch below. “They keep referring to what I have as a brain disorder, so it sounds a lot worse than what I’m feeling.”
The Piano Man announced in May that he’d been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a disorder where excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain. Doctors said performing exacerbated his condition, “leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance.”
These complications led to Joel scrapping all of the concerts he had on the books. “I’m sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience,” he said in a statement at the time, “and thank you for understanding.”
Billy Joel Thought Drinking Caused His Brain Disorder
Joel further explained the confusion that often surrounds his condition and his initial thoughts on what had caused it.
“It used to be called water on the brain. Now it’s called hydrocephalus — normal pressure hydrocephalus,” he said. “They don’t really know what causes it. I thought it must be from drinking” — which he noted he doesn’t do anymore, “but I used to, like a fish.”
Normal pressure hydrocephalus is “often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease,” according to the Alzheimer’s Association. “In fact, less than 20 percent of people with the disease are properly diagnosed.”
“It’s not fixed. It’s still being worked on,” told Maher. “I feel fine. My balance sucks. It’s like being on a boat.”
Joel is currently promoting his new HBO documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes. Part one of the two-part film was released on Friday.
