According to a recent poll, Brits love hearing sounds like the classic morning song of birds chirping (40%), music (20%) and the sound of a river running (20%).
Not surprisingly, our the sounds we like least are construction (48%), car horns (39%) and car alarms (38%).
The research, commissioned by MED-EL to mark the recent World Hearing Day, highlights the importance of looking after our own hearing, as well as that of family and friends.
This comes after a worldwide report found UK adults to be the worst at looking after their hearing. 47% of Brits have never even had it tested, against a global average of 31%.
This is despite many people having to deal with the consequences of poor hearing on a day to day basis.
These consequences include regularly having to ask others to repeat themselves (35%) and having to leave the TV/radio volume on high (19%), and being forced to use subtitles and audio-description (12%).
Start taking action
Frustration at communication difficulties came out on top as the biggest concern for those in the UK. Social isolation and personal safety risks also big concerns for 17% and 16% respectively.
Bad hearing also reportedly led to more than a third (37%) just smiling and nodding along to conversations in a bid to avoid embarrassment.
With this in mind, Patrick D’Haese at MED-EL is keen we address the issue at hand before it’s too late.
“Our research reveals that Brits need to start taking action when it comes to hearing health,” he said.
“Hearing loss has a huge impact on daily life. We firmly believe that people shouldn’t just have to cope with or accept it.
“We think nothing of keeping up with dentist appointments. So we encourage people to think the same way about getting their hearing checked regularly.
“That way, any issues can be detected in a timely way and solutions can be explored.
“We also encourage friends and family to look out for the nearest and dearest if they suspect they’re struggling with hearing loss.”
For more health advice from “The People’s Friend”, click here.
Yvonne McKenzie I work on the Features team and admit to being nosy, so I love looking after the Between Friends letters and finding out all about our lovely readers. I also look after our health copy and enjoy writing about inspiring people that help make the articles in the magazine so interesting.
