Joe Duffy is feeling as good as ever in his retirement, with his family by his side and after having done ‘an NCT on his health’, but the RTÉ veteran ended up visiting a therapist over a medical condition.
The former Liveline host revealed that cognitive behavioural therapy helped him learn to distract himself. He made the decision to see a therapist as he has been suffering from tinnitus, which he developed in 2018.
He realised that he had developed the condition, which is the sensation of hearing sound in your ears or head when no external sound is actually present, while in the gym.
Joe Duffy with his wife June. Pic: Arthur Carron/Collins Photos
‘When I got the tinnitus, I decided I needed to talk to somebody. I went to cognitive behavioural therapy to try and distract [myself from] it. But if I’m talking to you about tinnitus, I know my tinnitus will rear up now in an hour. I’ll hear this thing in my ear. This ringing in my ears is a horrific noise,’ Joe told the Irish Independent.
He joked that when he told Gay Byrne, he might as well have told him he had leukaemia. The former Late Late Show host told him he dreaded tinnitus all his life because of our business.
Gary Byrne with his old right hand man, Joe Duffy, and Mike Murphy. Pic: Colin Keegan, Collins
However, Joe has been managing his condition well, jokingly pointing out that you can’t die from it.
Joe was also quick to gush over his three adult children, Seán, Ronan and Ellen, who he shares with his wife, June Meehan. The radio presenter pointed out that his kids never dined out on his name.
‘They are in their 30s now, Jesus. They have never thrived on my name. They don’t do photographs. Like Ellen [who is a teacher], sometimes the children say to her in school: “Miss Duffy, is your daddy on the radio?”‘ He said.
To the nation, he was Joe Duffy, but to his three children, he was simply dad.