One-fifth of adults struggle with hearing loss, poll suggests

Many people with hearing loss fear it’s too late to mitigate it (PA Archive)

The most frustrating challenges for those with hearing difficulties include misunderstanding what people say, having to ask others to repeat themselves and being told to turn the TV down, according to a poll.

A survey of 2,000 adults found 22 per cent believed their hearing was poor, and struggled with missing key parts of conversations.

A similar proportion had difficulty hearing someone on the phone and felt like they were irritating others.

Some 81 per cent of those with hearing issues had missed their phone ringing entirely.

Seven in 10 had been putting up with the issues as long as they could remember, with most of those fearing it was too late to do anything about the deterioration.

Gordon Harrison, chief audiologist at Specsavers, which commissioned the research, said: “The figures clearly show how a decline in your hearing can have a serious impact on your life.

“Often hearing can decline over a long period of time so it can creep up on people without really noticing, until there’s an obvious problem.

“That’s not to say they shouldn’t seek help, as there are many ways to help improve your hearing.

“But it seems as though there may be a lack of understanding on how to protect yourself from the damaging long-term effects of loud noise, and how to improve your situation if you are struggling.”

It also emerged 82 per cent of those with hearing difficulties believed their issues had impacted their quality of life. Some 79 per cent admitted they often felt left out because of their problem.

It also emerged 45 per cent of all adults feared a hearing decline, yet 32 per cent of those with children did not encourage their offspring to look after theirs while they were young.

Of the 44 per cent that did, advice included turning down the volume of music, taking regular breaks when exposed to loud noise and avoiding the use of cotton buds.

Nearly half (45 per cent) also admitted to ignoring warnings on smartphones about listening to music too loudly.

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