How did AC/DC's Brian Johnson overcome his hearing loss?

5 October 2025, 09:00

Brian Johnson performs with AC/DC In concert in 2016. Picture: Jason Squires/WireImage/Getty

As the rocker celebrates his 78th Birthday, we look back at how an experimental treatment saved him from "deafness".

Brian Johnson celebrates his 78th Birthday on 5th October 2025.

The Back In Black rocker is best known for being the frontman of legendary Aussie/Geordie band AC/DC since 1980, but a few years ago his time on the stage was almost over for good due fear of total hearing loss.

The Rock or Bust singer returned to the band in 2020 and has been playing with them ever since, how did he overcome his hearing issues and has he been totally cured?

Find out here...

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What happened to Brian Johnson's hearing?

In 2016, Brian Johnson was forced to quit AC/DC's Rock Or Bust tour prematurely on doctors orders after they warned him that he risked "total hearing loss".

A statement on the band's website read: "Brian Johnson has been advised by doctors to stop touring immediately or risk total hearing loss”.

It continued: “Tomorrow’s show in Atlanta through Madison Square Garden in New York, NY in early April will be made up later in the year, likely with a guest vocalist”.

Axl Rose was announced as his replacement for the postponed shows marking the first time Johnson was not at the helm in 36 years.

How did Brian Johnson cure his hearing loss?

In 2020, Brian Johnson revealed that he underwent treatment for three years which "uses the bone structure in the skull as a receiver".

Though he couldn't explain the specific details or the name of the treatment, Johnson told Rolling Stone a specialist came to his house over the period.

“The first time he came down he brought this thing that looked like a car battery,” Johnson explained. “I went, ‘What in the hell is that?’ He said, ‘We’re going to miniaturise it.’

"We’d sit there and it was boring as shit with all these wires and computer screens and noises. But it was well worth it.

"The only thing I can tell you is that it uses the bone structure in the skull as a receiver. That’s as much as I can tell you."

The rocker also described how his hearing loss affected his appearances and how badly he felt letting down his bandmates.

“I couldn’t hear the tone of the guitars at all,” he told the outlet. “It was a horrible kind of deafness. I was literally getting by on muscle memory and mouth shapes.

“I was starting to really feel bad about the performances in front of the boys, in front of the audience. It was crippling. There’s nothing worse than standing there and not being sure.”