Michael Mosley has been trying to help us eat healthy, sleep better and exercise more for decades. Now the presenter, author and former doctor is turning his attention to our ears and encouraging anyone who has noticed a change in their hearing to take a free test. “Changes in hearing are completely normal and nothing to be ashamed of,” he emphasizes. He should know: Mosley suffers from hearing loss For several years. “At 66, my hearing isn’t great,” he tells me on the phone. “I really struggle in social settings like pubs and restaurants.” I assume he wears hearing aids these days. “I’m not quite ready for a hearing aid yet!” he protests. ‘My hearing isn’t bad enough. I’ll go back in a year or so for another test.”
This may make Mosley an odd choice to lead Specsavers’ hearing test campaign, but his attitude reflects society-wide reluctance to wear hearing aids. And at least he actually took a hearing test. A much-cited study from 2007 showed that it takes an average of ten years for people to notice hearing loss before it is checked. Ten years later, another study found that the situation has improved only slightly: that figure now stands at 8.9 years. And a Specsavers survey of 2,000 British adults in September found that one in three Brits had noticed changes in their hearing over the past ten years, but more than half (57%) had taken no action. The reasons given are: shame, feeling that this was not necessary, being too busy and because no one else they know has their hearing checked. My friend is one of them; he has had difficulty following conversations in noisy pubs in recent years, but feels the problem is not bad enough to do anything about it.
Does it really matter whether you have to ask colleagues to repeat something, or turn up the volume on the TV louder than before, or nod along to half-heard conversations at social gatherings? “There is a lot of evidence that people with untreated hearing loss are at significantly increased risk for depression and anxiety,” says Mosley. Katie Ogden, a hearing aid dispenser at the maker Reverberate, says this is partly because hearing loss can be isolating. “People say to me: ‘I used to like going to the pub on Friday evenings, but it’s so hard to hear, I don’t go there anymore.’ Changing your behavior is a red flag.”
Hearing and balance are connected and share a common nerve pathway to the brain. So untreated hearing loss is also linked to a increased risk of falls. A American study found that mild hearing loss tripled the risk of falls in people aged 40 to 69. And perhaps most alarmingly, hearing loss is linked to dementia. A survey of 437,704 people published in the Lancet in April found that people with untreated hearing loss were 42% more likely to develop dementia. Those with treated hearing loss were not at increased risk.
The first barrier to treatment is the test itself. “A lot of people don’t know you can get free hearing tests,” says Mosley. There are many online hearing tests, such as one from the charity RNID. GPs can also refer patients for NHS assessments, while major pharmacies and opticians often offer free check-ups. Many people find the prospect of a test daunting. But unlike eye tests, there are no wrong or right answers, says Gurleen Brar, audiologist at Specsavers. “Hearing is subjective and the test is so simple: you just press a button when you hear a sound,” she says. “Today I saw someone who was so worried about taking a test that it had taken her five or six years to work up the courage. She kicked herself for not coming sooner.”
Should hearing tests be as routine as eye tests and dental appointments? Brar recommends having a hearing test every 18 months from the age of 55, or sooner if you have noticed any problems. Boots proposes that over-50s have a test every two years, while the NHS offers a free assessment every three years. Not everyone who has noticed a problem needs to wear a hearing aid. “You may have a buildup of earwax,” says Ogden. “But knowledge is power.”
Yet even people diagnosed with hearing loss tend to resist wearing hearing aids. Prof Dongshan Zhu, the lead author of the Lancet dementia study, reported that almost four-fifths of people with hearing loss do not use hearing aids in Britain. In the U.S28.8 million adults could benefit from using hearing aids. Of these, only 30% of people over 70 and only 16% of people between 20 and 69 have ever used it. A friend of mine can relate: he was fitted with a hearing aid in one ear in 2015, but no longer wears it, despite struggling to hear colleagues every day.
Is there still a stigma around hearing aids? “Absolutely. People remember the big clunky devices,” says Mosley. “And people are ashamed of hearing loss. There is a feeling that hearing aids are a clear sign that you are old and decrepit.” But wearing glasses – a clear sign of poor eyesight – is socially acceptable. Why is it different with hearing aids? “I suppose we associate hearing loss almost entirely with older people, while glasses are worn at any age,” he says .
The truth is that hearing loss affects people of all ages. Research shows that around 28% of people aged 16 to 60 in the UK have some form of hearing loss and could benefit from hearing aids. Additionally, according to a study last year, 1 billion young people worldwide are at risk of hearing loss from loud music.
Ogden says a number of other myths keep people from wearing hearing aids. One is that they are uncomfortable and noticeable. She says that behind-the-ear hearing aids are now sleek and discreet, and in-the-ear aids are invisible. Myth two is that using hearing aids worsens hearing. The truth is the opposite: hearing aids keep the ears and brain stimulated, while not wearing them can cause the brain to “forget” sounds and lose the ability to process them. A third misconception is that hearing aids make sounds seem robotic. In fact, “Modern hearing aids produce natural sound and adapt to background noise,” she says. “They recognize it when you’re in a quiet place, and when you move to a busy restaurant, they change their behavior.”
Brar believes that any stigma is slowly being broken down. “I’m now testing more people in their 30s and 40s. If I test 10 people a day, three or four are under 50,” she says. “And people that age are more willing to wear hearing aids than people in their 60s or 70s.” That’s right. My 80-year-old father complains that his hearing aids make him look like an old man and rarely wears them; my sister, who recently had a hearing aid fitted, is just happy to hear the customers in the post office where she works.
Brar also credits the Strictly effect: after deaf actor Rose Ayling-Ellis won the BBC dance show in 2021, many new patients mentioned her during their hearing appointments. The singer Rick Astley, who was publicly about wearing aids last month, can still have a positive effect.
Hearing aids do not “cure” hearing loss, but they can help people hear more clearly and regain their ability to hear certain sounds. However, many people still struggle with it despite their best efforts. “It’s so common to have problems with your hearing aid in the beginning,” says Brar. People should make a follow-up appointment to adjust the sound and discuss how the device works, she says; They may need another appointment or two to get it right, or to try a different hearing aid. “If you have any problems, go back to your audiologist. Nine out of ten problems can be solved.”
What if wearers still feel self-conscious? “Every shame is in your head!” says Brar. “People don’t care if you wear hearing aids, they just want you to hear them.” It certainly helps that everyone on the street now wears headphones or earbuds – there’s certainly nothing unusual about having a device in your ear anymore. Still, “Maybe we need some really cool designers to make hearing aids cool,” Mosley suggests.
“What do you mean?” Ogden asks. “They’re already cool! Hearing aid technology is evolving – just like smartphones. They amaze me.” She thinks wearers are starting to embrace the things modern hearing aids can do. “People can connect to smart devices and stream phone calls wirelessly to their hearing aids. They can connect directly to their laptop for video calls. People see so many benefits that they can’t live without it.” Even some of her most reluctant porters have been converted, she says. “One guy, who didn’t really want hearing aids, came back and said, ‘I love them – I’ve been showing them to everyone. They changed my life. Why didn’t I do it sooner?’”
Brar agrees that hearing aids can be life-changing. “You can participate in conversations again, go to social events and just enjoy your life,” she says.
She has seen immediate benefits. “I recently saw two sisters, one of whom had untreated hearing loss all her life. They both cried when she had her hearing aids fitted – it was the first time she could hear her sister clearly.”
Ogden also mentions tears and shared “moments of delight.” “People say, ‘I hear it when my significant other says they love me. I haven’t heard that in years.’” She also receives thanks from partners of people with hearing loss. “They say, ‘You saved my marriage. I couldn’t stand the TV being on so loud anymore!’” I hope my friend notices and books a test.