Billy Joel Shares Health Update After Brain Surgery: “I Want People To Not Have To Worry About Me”

Billy Joel is reassuring fans about his health. During a recent call-in with fans on his SiriusXM channel, the Piano Man himself spoke out for the first time since he underwent brain surgery.

“I know people are worried about me because they read that I have a brain disorder, which sounds a lot worse than it actually is,” he told callers. “I’m OK.”

“My balance isn’t that good. Lost a little bit of my hearing, but that may have to do with my age, too, and the rock and roll life and the loud volume probably didn’t help,” he continued. “But I’m fine. I want people to not have to worry about me. I’m OK.”

Billy Joel’s Brain Surgery

The update came the same month that Joel revealed that he had undergone surgery amid his health battle.

“I said, ‘Well, what does that entail?’ ‘Well, we drill a hole through your skull and we stick a shunt inside your brain.’ I said, ‘Nah, I think I’ll pass on that,’” Joel said on his Sirius XM channel. “I didn’t want to do that, but then I read up on it and I realized it can help improve your balance and can help your memory. I don’t want to lose my marbles.”

“It’s hard to tell what’s age and what’s a condition, so I agreed to do the shunt,” he continued. “I had a surgery and they implanted a shunt in my brain—and it actually improved things.”

Though the surgery served its purpose, Joel still decided to cut back on work as a result.

“The doctors told me this: because of my job, which is playing rock and roll music very loud, that it was giving me something like a concussion every time I did a show,” he said. “It was causing damage to my brain nerves and I could be losing more brain cells the more shows I did and I realized that means I shouldn’t be doing this right now. I’ve got to improve.”

“They don’t want me to stress too much, so I’m doing physical therapy. I’m doing whatever it is they tell me to do because I don’t want to lose it,” Joel added. “So, I’m always testing myself. I know people have heard, ‘Oh, he’s got a brain disorder,’ and I’m OK. I just want people to know, don’t worry about me. I’m not going anywhere. I’m here. I’m still here.”

What to Know About Billy Joel’s Health

Back in May 2025, Joel revealed that doctors diagnosed him with normal pressure hydrocephalus. An excess of cerebrospinal fluid collecting in the brain causes the rare disorder.

A couple of months later, Joel spoke out about his health in an interview with People.

“I know a lot of people are worried about me and my health, but I’m OK,” he said. “What I have is something very few people know about, including me, no matter how much you try to research it. I’m doing my best to work with it and to recover from it.”

“It was scary, but I’m OK,” Joel added. “I just wanted to let people know, don’t worry about me being deathly ill or anything.”

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