Kasbo speaks up on his hiatus, hearing loss, and mental health

Life throws many curveballs. But for a young breakout star like Kasbo, who got his start at the ripe age of 18, hearing loss struck early, fast, and hard. Since releasing his acclaimed debut album almost a year ago, the Foreign Family Collective favorite had gone into an unexplainable hiatus. Despite his best efforts at touring and playing a few festivals in 2019, this was a time when Kasbo could have been pushing his creative sound the hardest.

The reason, as he details in-depth in a Facebook post, is because he was dealing with sudden hearing loss in one ear that struck this past May. Not to mention, the fear, anxiety, depression, and insomnia that went along with visiting countless doctors and going undiagnosed. As Kasbo explains,

“I’ve seen 5 ENT’s since May and no one can tell me what it is, my symptoms match nothing that’s out there and this to me is the scariest part. For several months I was severely depressed, I thought my life was over and that I was going deaf.”

For any music producer, the thought of going deaf certainly has to be among the top of their greatest fears. For a young artist like Kasbo, who has his entire life and career ahead of him, that thought can be debilitating. That Kasbo has the strength to come out now and publically speak about his physical and mental struggles is a testament to his maturity and resiliency. More and more, dance music artists have been coming forward to speak up about their mental health in hopes of spreading widespread awareness.

“Now it’s almost 5 months since that initial hearing loss and I’m finally getting back on my feet again. My hearing loss still comes back sometimes, but not nearly as frequent as it used to and not nearly as bad. I can almost function normally again.”

Kasbo sounds like he is in a much better place, saying he’s getting back into the swing of life and, most importantly, back to making music. “I’ve just tried to keep my head above water, trying to breathe, literally trying to survive,” he explains further.

The road is paved thin for Kasbo and his story is a reminder to not take the small things in life for granted. CE will be keeping close tabs on Kasbo’s progression with his health and his music, so stay tuned. Read the full statement below.

Photo credit: Jason Siegel.