Brits above 45 struggle to hear

New research conducted by hearing specialists Sonova and sound experts Sennheiser has found that over a third (36%) of those aged between 45 & 70 struggle to hear conversations in loud environments, such as a busy restaurant. This means if you are in that age bracket and met two friends for a drink, one of you is statistically likely to struggle to hear the others.

The data has also revealed that people are embarrassed by this – with 33% admitting they sometimes have to pretend to have heard what someone has said. And wearing a device to assist your hearing seems to carry a much larger social stigma than wearing glasses to assist your vision – over three times more in fact. Just 11% of people feel a degree of embarrassment wearing glasses in public or with friends, but this shoots up to 35% of people when asked about wearing a hearing aid.

With World Hearing Day (3rd March) just around the corner, it’s a great time to have a conversation about our hearing, and how we need to treat our ears with the same care and support we give our eyes and teeth. Over 12 million adults in the UK have significant hearing challenges – and this is expected to rise to 14.2 million by 2035. Data also shows that 1 in 7 adults have tinnitus, suggesting more education is needed around looking after our ears.

Aston spoke to hearing tech expert Martin Grieder.