'Elvis' director Baz Luhrmann says he spent weeks 'terrified' he'd lost his hearing because an 'earplug was stuck on my eardrum'
- Baz Luhrmann told New York Magazine's The Strategist that he recently thought he had lost his hearing.
- Luhrmann said that he was "terrified" for weeks when he couldn't hear in one ear.
Baz Luhrmann said he spent weeks "terrified" that he had lost hearing in one ear.
In a new interview with New York Magazine's The Strategist, the "Elvis" director said the incident occurred after a recent flight.
"I'm an insomniac, and I fly all the time. The two most important things when I'm flying are blocking out sound and light. I used to use those standard earplugs. But recently, I had a very, very scary situation where I thought I lost my hearing in one ear," Luhrmann said.
The Australian director continued: "I was wearing children's earplugs, and unbeknownst to me, one attached to my eardrum. I spent weeks terrified on tour. Everyone was feeding me lines and I was pretending to hear, but I couldn't. Turns out, the earplug was stuck on my eardrum."
Luhrmann said he had to get the earplug surgically removed and now uses Blu-tack adhesive instead to avoid another incident.
"Drummers use that instead of earplugs," Luhrmann said. "You place it in, it forms in your ear, it comes out really clean, and you throw it away. It's a much safer and cleaner option for blocking sound out of your ear."
While Luhrmann has yet to win a best director award at the Oscars, his 2001 movie "Moulin Rouge!" and his latest hit "Elvis" were both nominated for eight awards at their respective Academy Awards. "Moulin Rouge!" won the awards for best costume design and best art direction.
In 2016, Luhrmann said during a Tribeca Film Festival panel that he was told that he was "insane" for wanting to make "Moulin Rouge!"
"When I did 'Moulin Rouge,' honestly you have no idea how many very well-known, very trusted people said to me, 'You're insane. The musical will never work again. The musical can never be popular again in cinema,'" Luhrmann said.