The Wilson brothers had a problematic relationship with their father. Many stories of abuse have surfaced, including a supposed incident where Murry hit Brian in the head with a 2×4, resulting in the permanent loss of hearing in his right ear. Murry denied such reports when approached by "Rolling Stone" in 1971. According to biographer David Leaf, Murry later "telephoned Brian and angrily demanded that he retract the stories. Brian reportedly laughingly told his dad, 'I'll tell you what. Let's tell them that I shit in your ear, and you hit me in the head with a plate." Brian's 2016 memoir states, "Lots of things have been written about my dad and the way he treated me and my brothers. Lots of them are true. Some of them are dirty lies. But even the things that are true aren’t always what they seem." It also states that Brian's loss of hearing was actually caused by a boy who lived in their neighborhood.