TV Personality Discusses Effect On Life And Realisation Of Problems

Television personality Bill Oddie has spoken at length about how he first discovered he had hearing problems and the impact it initially had on his life.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, the former member of The Goodies revealed that he was out enjoying his hobby of birdwatching with a friend around four years when he realised he could not hear certain types of birdsong.

Following the incident, the 72-year-old star went home and played other types of high-pitched recordings and found he could not hear them either. However, despite the problems, he admitted to not taking any action on the issue until around six months ago.

He told the newspaper: “My wife did on occasions ask me “Are you going deaf?” to which I’d reply that it might help if she could speak up.

“Then about six months ago I finally said to myself ‘For goodness sake, hearing tests are free for everyone, see if you were right about the missing frequencies’ — and I was right.”

Now wearing hearing aids for both ears, Oddie added that he was pleased to subsequently once again hear he calls of various birds on a recent trip to enjoy some birdwatching.

If you or a loved one has suffered from hearing damage such as acoustic shock, tinnitus, and noise-induced hearing loss caused by conditions at work our solicitors could help you claim compensation. See our Industrial Disease Claims page for more information.

Expert Opinion

It has been very interesting to read Mr Oddie’s thoughts on what it was like to discover he was suffering from hearing problems which were ultimately preventing him from doing something he loved. <br/> <br/>"His story is very similar to many we come across when we’re talking to people who have suffered noise-induced hearing loss or other hearing issues as a result of working in noisy environments. <br/> <br/>"Very common complaints are the loss of registering higher tones, the need to turn up the volume or music or complaints from loved ones who have to repeat themselves in conversation. <br/> <br/>"We would urge anyone suffering from these problems to seek medical advice and have a hearing test. In addition, where problems are identified, it is important people consider whether the problems could be related to exposure to high levels of noise at work and seek advice on whether they may be entitled to gain justice in relation to such issues."