The Unknowingly Deaf: When Hearing Loss Creeps Up Without You Realising

Hearing loss is often imagined as something sudden, dramatic, or obvious. In reality, for millions of people, it happens slowly and quietly over many years. so quietly that they may not even realise it is happening.

The “unknowingly deaf” are people living with hearing loss without recognising the signs. They may think everyone mumbles these days. 

They may turn the television up louder than everyone else prefers. They may constantly ask people to repeat themselves. 

Some become known as “the loud one” in the family because they speak or shout far louder than necessary without realising it.

In many cases, the problem is gradual hearing deterioration combined with tinnitus, the persistent ringing, buzzing, hissing, or roaring sounds in the ears that only the sufferer can hear.

Tinnitus itself can be exhausting. For some people, it becomes a constant background noise that interferes with conversations and makes it difficult to distinguish speech, particularly in pubs, restaurants, supermarkets, or busy workplaces. 

Over time, the brain adapts in ways that can mask just how much hearing has actually been lost.

One of the biggest warning signs is volume. People with undiagnosed hearing loss often increase the volume of televisions, radios, phones, and even their own voices. Friends and family may notice long before the individual does.

Another common sign is misunderstanding conversations. Someone may answer the wrong question, laugh at the wrong moment, or appear distracted when, in truth, they simply have not heard properly. This can sometimes lead to frustration, embarrassment, social withdrawal, and even anxiety.

The issue is far more common than many realise. Hearing loss is not just an “old person’s problem.” Long-term exposure to loud music, industrial noise, headphones, traffic, machinery, concerts, and even repeated infections can all contribute. Stress and fatigue can also worsen tinnitus symptoms.

Unfortunately, many people delay getting help because hearing loss develops so gradually that it feels normal. Others fear stigma around hearing aids, despite modern devices being smaller, smarter, and more effective than ever before.

The good news is that recognising the problem is the first step. Simple hearing tests can identify early hearing damage, and treatment or hearing support can dramatically improve quality of life. Protecting hearing from further damage is equally important, especially in noisy environments.

If somebody you know constantly shouts, struggles to follow conversations, or keeps asking “What?” there may be more going on than simple distraction. They may genuinely not realise how much hearing they have lost.

Sometimes the people most affected by hearing loss are the last to notice it.

Your GP can organise a referral to the audiology department at your nearest NHS hospital, or you can book an appointment with a private audiologist, or check out the offerings from high street hearing aid centres. Some opticians not only offer hearing aid services they can offer combined spectacles and hearing aids.

The British Academy of Audiologists can be of help https://baaudiology.org 

Landmark military hearing loss claims judgment is a major win for UK Armed Forces veterans

A new High Court judgment is being welcomed as an important step forward for UK Armed Forces veterans living with hearing loss and tinnitus after service.

The case, Abbott and Others v Ministry of Defence [2026], looked at claims for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) brought by former members of His Majesty’s Armed Forces. 

For many veterans, this decision could be life-changing, as thousands of similar cases have been waiting for guidance from the courts.

Military life can expose service personnel to extreme levels of noise. Weapons fire, explosions, aircraft, armoured vehicles, engineering work and maintenance duties can all create long-term damage to hearing. 

While these risks are often accepted as part of service, the lasting impact can continue for decades after leaving the forces.

Hearing loss and tinnitus are often dismissed as minor problems, but for many veterans, they affect every part of daily life.

Something as simple as chatting with family at home, following a conversation in a busy pub, or hearing clearly in a restaurant can become frustrating, exhausting and, at times, impossible. Many veterans begin avoiding social situations altogether because they feel embarrassed, anxious or isolated.

Some also report knock-on effects reaching much further, including depression, loss of confidence, substance misuse and social withdrawal.

The High Court ruling recognised military hearing loss should not simply be assessed in the same way as industrial workplace hearing loss. The Court found the traditional CLB method, commonly used in factory and workplace claims, is not generally suitable for military cases.

Instead, the Court preferred a military-specific diagnostic approach known as rM-NIHL, which better reflects the unique noise exposure faced by service personnel.

The judgment also looked at how hearing loss should be measured, how military hearing tests should be treated, how tinnitus claims should be approached, and whether private hearing aid costs may be recoverable.

This clarity matters.

Veterans deserve fair assessment, proper support and recognition of the injuries they have sustained while serving their country. Hearing damage may not always be visible, but its effects can be deeply personal and long-lasting.

Alongside legal support, there is also growing recognition that recovery goes beyond compensation. The newly established Sentinel Foundation aims to support injured veterans with issues including PTSD, traumatic brain injury, addiction and homelessness, helping them access treatment and long-term rehabilitation.

Because for many veterans, the battle does not end when service does.

If someone has given years of their life in uniform, often at enormous personal cost, they deserve to know they will not be left to struggle alone.

Sometimes, being heard starts with recognising the silence hearing loss can create.

Sentinel Legal has welcomed the judgment. Sam Ward, Director of Sentinel Legal told That's Health: “Today’s judgment is a major moment for UK troops and veterans.

“For many former service personnel, hearing loss and tinnitus are not minor issues. They can affect conversations at home, family life, work, confidence and day to day independence."

“Sentinel Legal has spoken to hundreds of veterans who have described the devastating impact these injuries can have."

http://www.thesentinelfoundation.com

Suicidal thoughts experienced by one in five tinnitus sufferers as new report from Tinnitus UK reveals lack of mental health support for the condition

Tinnitus has significant effects on medical health and wellbeing, resulting in emotional exhaustion, clinical anxiety, clinical depression, & insomnia.

Tinnitus UK, a leading independent charity dedicated to supporting individuals who are coping with tinnitus in the UK has unveiled groundbreaking research which underscores the critical need for enhanced healthcare support and services for those affected by this pervasive condition.

Startling statistics reveal the harsh reality of the tinnitus landscape, impacting 1 in 7 adults in the UK and severely diminishing the quality of life for 1 in 6 of those individuals.

In December 2023, Tinnitus UK conducted a study involving 478 people who are afflicted by tinnitus to delve into their experiences and the challenges they encounter in accessing healthcare support for the condition.

The findings are distressing:

Over one in five respondents experienced thoughts of suicide or self-harm in the last year.

In excess of 8 out of 10 reported low mood or anxiety, with 7 out of 10 feeling hopeless or helpless.

85.7% reported sleep disturbances.

The emotional toll is significant, with 68.4% reporting low self-esteem and 54.9% struggling to think rationally.

Tinnitus is also linked to social isolation, impacting relationships and daily life, with two-thirds of respondents avoiding contact with friends, minimising social activities, or facing difficulties at work.

Despite National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines introduced in March 2020, substantial challenges still persist in healthcare support for tinnitus sufferers.

Half of respondents secured GP appointments within a week, but 16% had to wait for over a month.

Referrals to secondary care decreased to 57.9%, with 11.7% not even offered a referral.

Waiting times for secondary care appointments have increased, with the number of people waiting over a year tripling from 2019 to 2023, to 1 in 6 facing waits of in excess of 12 months.

Limited mental health support is available, with a shockingly low 5% offered Psychological Interventions such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

In response to these alarming findings, Tinnitus UK is calling for immediate action to be taken:

An evaluation of secondary care services and increased investment from commissioning bodies where necessary.

Implementation of a standardised national management model for tinnitus.

Increased tinnitus education for medical professionals.

Commenting on the urgent need for action, Tinnitus UK’s Head of Services, Maisie Carscadden, said: “There's been a noticeable increase in people reaching out to us who require support for the mental health struggles tinnitus has triggered. 

"Their situation is often complex, and people are facing barriers accessing the services they need. We provide guidance, reassurance, and support to help them cope, but a significant number of these people require specialised care from health professionals.

"Unfortunately, the necessary resources are often lacking. Of course, we're dedicated to doing our part, but there needs to be collective efforts to bridge this gap and ensure everyone gets the care they need and that they deservedeserve.”

James Jackson, Reader in Psychology at Leeds Trinity University, added: “While most people will eventually habituate to their tinnitus, it can be very distressing in the short-to-medium term, if not longer. 

"It has significant effects on medical health and wellbeing, resulting in emotional exhaustion, clinical anxiety, clinical depression, and insomnia. It's really vital people have access to timely interventions to ensure the impact on their quality of life is minimised.”

To learn more about Tinnitus UK you can visit http://www.tinnitus.org.uk

As a personal note, I suffer from Tinnitus and it can be an extremely distressing condition.  

Tinnitus Myths: Sorting out the fact from the fiction

An expert debunks some myths about tinnitus: a condition which adversely affects the daily lives of 300,000 people in the UK.

Tinnitus – noise heard in the ears or the head - is far more common than most people think. During the 1950s a series of experiments put 80 people with normal hearing in a soundproofed room for five minutes; 94 per cent experienced hearing sounds such as humming, buzzing or ringing, although none had previously complained of tinnitus.

Over 60 years later and scientists are still struggling to understand this frustrating condition. No win no fee solicitors Claims Direct can help people who suffer tinnitus as a result of working conditions make a personal injury claim and receive the compensation they need and deserve.

Claims Direct can also help people with rehabilitation and put them in touch with support groups. But in terms of researching tinnitus, it is excellent organisations such as Deafness Research UK which are leading the fight to find out more about treating tinnitus.

Andrew Goodwin, an Outreach Advisor for Deafness Research, offers advice to people who want to know more about their hearing loss and assists people to find out what help exists. He is well aware of the myths surrounding tinnitus – myths which can hinder sufferers’ attempt to get better.

Myth 1: Only old people suffer from tinnitus

Andrew Goodwin: This perception is entirely wrong. You can suffer tinnitus at any age. There is no evidence that certain types of people get it more than any others. Tinnitus seems unrelated to age, gender or race.

Myth 2: If I get tinnitus I will realise it straight away

AG: Frustratingly, there are so many people out there who have Tinnitus and are not aware they have a recognised condition. People will have ringing in their ears and feel that they are the only one who has it as it is so rarely talked about in the media.

Myth 3: I don’t listen to loud music and don’t have a noisy job so I won’t get tinnitus

AG: It is true that one type of tinnitus is caused by exposure to loud noise over time, so occupations such as steelworker or anyone in the nightclub industry is at risk. However, another type of tinnitus seems to be activated by stress, so any stressful job, such as stockbroker, lawyer or teacher, could be a factor in causing tinnitus. At the moment, not enough is known about tinnitus to be able to say with absolute certainty what the causes are. What we do know for certain is that stress and noise are two key factors. The strong link between tinnitus and stress means that most treatments will start with relaxation treatments.

Myth 4: The papers say there is a cure so there is no need to worry

AG: There are NO cures for Tinnitus at the moment. You may have read of pills containing Ginkgo Biloba supposedly being a cure. We have funded research into this and have found, through double-blind testing, (where both the dispensers and the testers don’t know if they have received the Ginkgo Biloba or a placebo) that it has no discernible effect on the tinnitus.

Myth 5: I’ll cut out caffeine and the problem will be sorted!

AG: It used to be thought that reducing the caffeine in your diet would help, but again, proper research has proven that to be false. In fact, if you were to cut out caffeine too drastically, the caffeine withdrawal would make the tinnitus worse! Likewise, other research that has been completed recently has proved that changing your diet will have little impact on the tinnitus.

Myth 6: It is best to just do nothing about the tinnitus as it will probably just go away of its own accord

AG: The vast majority of people leave it and never even talk about it with friends or relations. It is only if it becomes a serious issue, affecting sleep patterns and the ability to communicate, do people then seek help from their doctor. In most cases, tinnitus seems to go away or is sporadic. However, in the cases where people seek help, it rarely goes away; it just becomes more manageable. However, as with any other medical condition, the sooner you seek help the better. We do hear of distressing cases where people have committed suicide because they were unaware of the help that is available.

Myth 7: If you have tinnitus, there is little hope of easing the symptoms

AG: There definitely are a few treatments that can have a positive effect, one is Tinnitus Retraining Therapy. In this instance, a box will be tuned with the sound of the patient’s specific tinnitus and it will be played to them for between five and ten minutes each day. The idea behind this is that the tinnitus excites the fight or flee response in us as it is a sound we cannot identify, so our brain doesn’t know if it is a threat or not. So, by playing this sound on a regular basis, the brain gets used to it and identifies it as an external source, becomes less threatened by it and so pays less attention to it. The tinnitus never goes away but it becomes far more manageable.

‘You’re not alone’

Andrew is keen to reassure tinnitus sufferers that there are positive steps they can take to cope with tinnitus.

He said: “Things have improved enormously over the last few years, thanks mainly to the huge amount of research that Deafness Research UK has funded. Nowadays, most GP’s will know that Tinnitus is not fictional and is a very real, very distressing condition. This is also reassuring as, if you start suffering symptoms associated with tinnitus, you should always visit a GP first. If needed, they can refer to you a Tinnitus Specialist for help.

The most important thing to realise is that there IS help out there. Download our factsheet to find out more, but there are lots of treatments that can help manage the condition. Remember most of all, you are not alone. There are Tinnitus Support groups up and down the country at which you can find out how different people have found ways of coping.”

Author: James Christie
Claims Direct - Advice on tinnitus and accident at work claims.
www.claimsdirect.co.uk

Claims Direct can also help people  with rehabilitation and put them in touch with support groups. But  in terms of researching tinnitus, it is excellent organisations such as Deafness Research UK which are leading the fight to find   out more about treating tinnitus.