Half of Brits have never had a hearing test

Brits are taking a back seat when it comes to looking after their hearing – topping a global poll of over 12,000 to show that almost half (47%) of the nation have never had a hearing test because they don’t believe their hearing check-ups are a priority. This comes in stark contrast to those in China and UAE where respectively, only 15% and 16% have never had a hearing test.

Despite a clear lack of care for ear health throughout the world, many people deal with the consequences of poor hearing on a day to day basis. Over a third (35%) of Brits regularly ask others to repeat themselves, another fifth (19%) have their TV/radio volume left on high and another 12% use subtitles and audio-description. In spite of this, almost half of Brits do not consider their hearing check-ups to be a priority – the highest number throughout the world.

For World Hearing Day, MED-EL is encouraging people to get their hearing checked as well as those around them and seek advice on daily behaviours that can lead to long term problems and impair hearing ability.

Aston spoke to Harry Powell, ENT consultant at Guys and St Thomas Hospital, Colin Hill, mentor at Hear Peers and Jane Hill, Colin’s wife to discuss the research in further detail and how we can all take steps to take better care of our hearing health.