Former Manchester United and Danish goalkeeping legend, Peter Schmeichel, has recently been fitted with his first hearing aids. Schmeichel who is now 60, reveals that he put off getting hearing aids for years because it ‘made him feel old’.
Schmeichel had a hearing test two years ago after seeing an ENT specialist about another issue. “He did a hearing test and told me I was on my way towards hearing aids. That was a little bit of a shock for me,” says Schmeichel.
“When you lose your hearing, whatever you’ve lost, you will never gain that again – there’s absolutely nothing that can be done to get more hearing. It’s just going to get gradually worse, and a hearing aid will protect it. If you don’t do something about it, who’s to say how much you can hear in 10 years?”
Despite this warning, Schmeichel, who’d always been unable to hear high-frequency sounds, did nothing about his deteriorating hearing. “I believe I was born with some kind of hearing loss, which got progressively worse over time to the point where I would really struggle in social situations where there was a lot of background noise,” he says.
Schmeichel admits it took him two years to get hearing aids because he associated them with aging and a preceived handicap. “But that’s really, really stupid – it’s ridiculous,” he says.
The former goalie, who won five Premier League titles with Manchester United and captained the team when it won the Champions League final in 1999, decided to take action when he struggled to hear fellow footballer Freddie Ljungberg at a live stage event. “We were on stage in front of 700 people, and I was really struggling to hear what was being said. I thought, ‘I’ve got to do something about this now,’” he recalls.
Schmeichel points out that while it took him two years to get hearing aids after realising his hearing had deteriorated, the average thinking time before people get a hearing aid is ten years. “Do you know how much hearing you can lose in 10 years?”
Schmeichel tested his new devices at a concert, attending one night with hearing aids and the other without. “It was really, really good when I was wearing them, and more difficult when I wasn’t. So it’s definitely a big improvement for me.”
Schmeichel now wants to encourage others with untreated hearing loss to take action. “I just want to put one message out there – don’t hold back, don’t think it’s embarrassing to wear a hearing aid. Have a test, and if you’re suffering hearing loss, know that you’ll never be better, only worse, but with hearing aids, you will protect your hearing. It keeps you at social gatherings, it improves your life. So there are no excuses not to have a hearing test and not to see where you’re at. No excuses whatsoever.”
For more on Peter Schmeichel’s journey and insights on overcoming the stigma of wearing hearing aids, you can read the full article HERE in The Independent.
And if you’re worried about your hearing, don’t wait for 2 years, or even 10, GET IN TOUCH with Hearing Healthcare Practice and we’ll be happy to help.