In her new memoir, the movie star’s wife reveals how on-set hearing damage complicated the early recognition of his dementia
Emma Heming, wife of actor Bruce Willis, has revealed that the star suffered significant and irreversible hearing damage during the filming of the first Die Hard movie — an injury that later obscured the early symptoms of his dementia.
In her memoir The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, Heming recounts that Willis, 70, fired a gun repeatedly under a table during one scene without any ear protection, causing permanent hearing loss in one ear.
Hearing loss masked early symptoms
Heming, 47, explains that, for years, she believed her husband’s communication difficulties – frequent misunderstandings, repeated requests for clarification and sudden silences in conversation – were the result of this deafness. It was only later that the family realised the problem went deeper.
Willis was formally diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in February 2023, a condition that affects behaviour, speech and decision-making. Heming writes that the diagnosis helped make sense of signs that had previously been dismissed as hearing-related or age-related changes.
Overlapping symptoms
Heming notes that in caregiving situations, symptoms of dementia can easily be confused with those of other chronic conditions, such as hearing loss. “Different types of dementia can look very different,” she writes, urging families and clinicians to pay close attention to subtle shifts in communication and behaviour to avoid misdiagnosis.
A call for awareness
Her reflections offer a moving account of the challenges faced by families caring for someone with dementia, and how untreated sensory loss can complicate the process of recognition and care. Heming’s message underscores the importance of awareness, early assessment and timely medical support for both patients and carers.
“Hearing loss doesn’t just affect how we hear, it affects how we connect,” said Abigail Pillay, a Clinical Audiologist at Hearology®. “In older adults, unaddressed hearing problems can mask or even exacerbate signs of cognitive decline. Getting a full hearing evaluation early on can make a critical difference, because a good Audiologist would be able to assess the extent to which hearing loss could be responsible for an individual’s changed behaviour.”
References
Book Excerpt: Emma Heming Willis on Her ‘Unexpected Journey’ - In an excerpt from her book, 'The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path', Emma Heming Willis discusses how Bruce Willis lost a large percentage of his hearing during the filming of the first Die Hard movie.
Why Bruce Willis' wife suspected injury from this notable film role indicated symptom of dementia - News reporting on Heming’s revelations
