Alan Jackson Opens Up About Battle With Degenerative Nerve Condition

In a recent interview, Alan Jackson opened up about his battle with a degenerative nerve condition.

The country music icon revealed in an interview with NBC‘s “Today” on Tuesday that he was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease a decade ago, which has been affecting his ability to walk.

“I have this neuropathy and neurological disease. It’s genetic that I inherited from my daddy … There’s no cure for it, but it’s been affecting me for years,” Jackson told Jenna Bush Hager. “And it’s getting more and more obvious. And I know I’m stumbling around on stage. And now I’m having a little trouble balancing, even in front of the microphone, and so I just feel very uncomfortable.”

CMT impacts the peripheral nervous system and causes balance problems, but is not life-threatening.

“It’s not going to kill me. It’s not deadly. But it’s related (to) muscular dystrophy and Parkinson’s disease,” Jackson said.

The 62-year-old Country Music Hall of Fame member said he “never wanted to do the big retirement tour, like people do, then take a year off and then come back.”

(Photo: UMG Nashville)