Billy Joel Says He Underwent Brain Surgery to Improve His Memory and Balance After Doctors Compared His Concerts to Giving Himself a Concussion

Billy Joel recently underwent brain surgery following his diagnosis of hydrocephalus.

Opening up about it in an interview on SiriusXM’s The Billy Joel Channel, the 77-year-old shared, “I noticed that my balance was not good. I had this sense of being on a boat, like this rocking motion.”

As Joel explained, “I wasn’t steady on my feet. I didn’t know why that was, and I went to meet with the neurologist, and I was diagnosed with having something called normal pressure hydrocephalus, which they used to call water on the brain.”

Normal pressure hydrocephalus is a condition caused by the buildup of cerebrospinal fluid inside a person's skull, which puts pressure on the brain, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

While the condition typically occurs in people over 65 years of age, it is often treatable and sometimes even reversible.

Continuing, Joel said about his condition, “Nobody’s really sure what causes it, but they’re able to diagnose it, and I heard this, and I said, ‘Oh, well, what does that mean?’”

“‘Well, you know, it could be progressive. It could get worse, but what we recommend is that you implant a shunt in your brain.’ 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.’ I didn’t want to do that,” he went on to share.

However, after he “read up on it,” Joel realized that the shunt (a flexible plastic tube surgically inserted in the brain to drain fluid and alleviate pressure) could actually “help improve your balance and can help your memory.”

“You know, I don’t want to lose my marbles,” he said. “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, and they implanted a shunt in my brain, and it actually improved things. My memory got better, my balance got a little better, my ability to function was better.”

That said, he also shared what he realized and what his doctors told him: “Because of my job, which is playing rock ’n’ roll music very loud, that it was giving me something like a concussion every time I did a show.”

“It was causing damage to my brain nerves, and I could be losing more brain cells the more I played, the more shows I did, and I realized that means I shouldn’t be doing this right now. I got to improve,” he continued to explain.

While the doctors don't want him to “stress too much,” Joel also revealed that he is undergoing physical therapy as well.

“I’m doing whatever it is they tell me to do because I don’t want to lose it, you know?” he said. “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.”