Linda Ronstadt Was Diagnosed with a Disease That Has Sadly Impacted Her Singing and Hearing

One of the positives of America’s controversial political climate is that celebrities often come out of the woodwork and show us who they really are. One such celebrity is Linda Ronstadt, the Mexican-American Grammy-winning singer, who slammed former President Donald Trump for holding a rally in a music hall named for her in Tucson, Ariz.

But in the past decade, Linda’s health has been declining because of a Parkinson’s-like disorder that causes brain cell deterioration. Ever since her diagnosis, Linda has spoken about the complications of living with this, and in 2024, she took a turn for the worse. But after she showed up to endorse Kamala Harris, fans are wondering how her health is.

Getting a life-threatening diagnosis is always scary, but Linda has handled it with grace. Linda was struggling with her singing, and in 2013, she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. However, she learned that it was actually progressive supranuclear palsy, a similar degenerative disorder that has affected all of Linda’s functions. It copies the symptoms of both Parkinson’s and dementia, according to the Mayo Clinic.

In a 2022 TODAY interview with Linda, she shared that she can no longer sing because of it, so she sings in her head instead. “It’s not quite the same,” she said. “Sometimes, I choose the song, and sometimes my brain chooses the song. My brain chooses the worst music. It just blares away in my head, like really bad Christmas carols."

But that’s not all. In February 2024, Linda’s health took a serious turn. A former classmate emailed Linda to see how she was doing: “Her health, Linda wrote, has been ‘icky.’ After a trip to Tucson this February for the gem show, she came down with a second case of COVID-19. Complicated by her Parkinson’s, it laid her low. She was hospitalized twice. When she came out, she had lost her capacity for speech, for hearing, and for walking. She immediately entered physical therapy."

Despite the steep decline in Linda’s functions earlier in 2024, she regained her ability to speak, thanks to therapy. “With the help of therapy and attentive, around-the-clock care, the legendary songstress has regained her speech, she recently told a high school classmate who checked in with her ahead of their 60th reunion at Catalina High School,” an update in the Arizona Daily Star revealed.

“[Linda] is regaining her power of speech through hard work, and she sounded familiar and articulate in a recent phone call,” the classmate added. “Her hearing loss, on the other hand, is probably permanent.” Hopefully, Linda still lives happily, despite her progressive supranuclear palsy disorder.