[quote=@Shohmyoh]
And I didn't really explain it, but his powers were sometimes beyond his control at a young age, so every so often he would be temporarily stricken with blindness or deafness, or be unable to feel the ground beneath his feet.  And he probably just blabbed about his ability to people when he was young and dumb.  As he got older he learned how to turn his power on and off at will.  
[/quote]

Second reason I find a lot more plausible than the first. That's the one that I think could play into the first, because if the only reason was the first one, then it would either look more like he was crazy or mentally unstable rather than a freak ability wise. But yes, second reason combined with the first that does make more sense to me.