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28% of Brits putting hearing at risk every day

Monday 18th December 2017
More than one-quarter of Brits are exposing their hearing to dangerously loud noises on a daily basis, new research reveals. Image: Halfpoint via iStock
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A large number of people in the UK are regularly putting their hearing at risk by exposing themselves to dangerously loud noises, meaning they are in urgent need of hearing tests.

New research carried out by hearing aid technology brand Oticon suggests that a significant number of Brits are in need of intervention from audiologists to test and safeguard their hearing function for the future.

It was found that more than one-quarter (28 per cent) of people expose their hearing to dangerously loud sounds, such as industrial machinery, too-loud headphones or speakers at live events, every single day. What's more, one in five admitted to failing to wear hearing protection in these situations.

Oticon's survey also led to the discovery that 21 per cent of Brits suffer from tinnitus as a result of damaging their hearing, meaning they are stuck living with a persistent ringing or roaring sound in their ears.

Meanwhile, 51 per cent of respondents revealed that they can't always hear what other people are saying to them, while 41 per cent admitted regularly having to ask others to repeat themselves or speak louder so they can hear.

However, this could potentially have been prevented if these people had undergone hearing tests before their hearing function was damaged beyond repair. Knowing that their hearing was at risk could have encouraged some to make changes to their lifestyles to safeguard their remaining hearing function.

Some 22 per cent of those questioned were in agreement that they needed a hearing test, while one-third admitted they were worried about their hearing declining as they aged.

Yet 68 per cent of hearing aid-wearers refuse to wear theirs, citing self-consciousness and believing that it's a sign of getting old as their reasons why.

Thomas Behrens, head of audiology at Oticon, commented: "Hearing can decline slowly over a long period of time, which can make it both hard to recognise and easy to ignore - so ideally people would get their hearing checked from time to time, just as they would their eyes."

Written by James Puckle

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