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U2 drummer, Larry Mullen Jr., has revealed a surprising health diagnosis, and it explains why he looks "pained" while drumming.
In a new interview with UK's Times Radio, Mullen explained that he suffers from dyscalculia, which is a learning disability that affects one's ability to understand and work with numbers — extremely difficult to deal with, if you're counting bars as a drummer.
Mullen explained, "I’ve always known that there's something not particularly right with the way that I deal with numbers. I'm numerically challenged." He added, "And I realised recently that I have dyscalculia, which is a sub-version of dyslexia. So I can't count [and] I can't add."
The dummer went on to share that fans and peers have shared with him that he looks "pained" while hitting the drums, and it's because he's trying his best to count the bars of the song he's playing — which he compared to climbing Mount Everest. Mullen said, "When people watch me play sometimes, they say, 'you look pained.' I am pained because I'm trying to count the bars. I had to find ways of doing this — and counting bars is like climbing Everest."
Mullen was only recently diagnosed with dyscalculia after years of trying to understand numbers, and is the first time he is addressing his diagnosis publicly.