Why does Bono always wear sunglasses?

Rockstar and philanthropist Bono joined the rest of his U2 band members recently for an appearance on the British talk show The Graham Norton Show. Since everyone knows Bono never leaves the house without his signature shades, Graham jokingly asked, “Do you ever take them off?”

After a short pause, Bono proceeded to say, “This is a good place to explain to people that I’ve had glaucoma for the last 20 years.”

Talk about a dropping a bomb! Everyone just assumed Bono wore the shades as part of his rock star persona. Now, come to find out, his sunglasses are actually a useful tool for overcoming glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a serious yet manageable eye condition that damages the nerves within the eye resulting in vision loss and even blindness. However, with early detection, you can protect the eyes from further damage, thus Bono wearing sunglasses.

Thankfully, the news of his eye condition wasn’t enough to damper the mood. The 54-year-old had fun with the rest of the segment when he wore extra large sunglasses as a way to poke fun of his favorite accessory.

Towards the end of the interview, Bono said, “Now that you have this information, you’re never going to be able to get it out of your head. You’re just going to say, ‘there poor old blind Bono.'”