Dave Lifton | Ultimate Classic Rock

Paul Kane

Given the rock n’ roll lifestyle he’s led, we can expect a lot of juicy gossip in Paul Stanley’s upcomingautobiography. But in a new interview, the Kiss singer says that, in the book, he also discusses something a lot more serious, his lifelong struggle with microtia and partial deafness.

“Y’know, my book is about my life starting from the very beginning and certainly a certain amount of adversity and having a birth defect and being deaf on one side and the family that I came from,” he toldPulse of Radio. “Certainly people have had more adversity in their lives — and some less — but I, I would think some people would get a certain amount of inspiration and a sense that positivity and belief in yourself will ultimately lead you to a great place.”

Microtia is a congenital disease where the external ear is underdeveloped. Stanley suffers from Grade III microtia, which has rendered him deaf in the right ear. It is believed to occur in one out of every 8,000 – 10,000 births.

Although it’s not something he discusses often, Stanley hasn’t kept this a secret. He is an honorary director of AboutFace, a Canadian organization devoted to people with facial differences, and has appeared at many of their fundraising efforts over the years.

Stanley’s memoir, ‘Face the Music: A Life Exposed,’ will be published April 22, 2014.