Mary Black has described getting hearing aids as a ‘Godsend’ after spending years with her hearing slowly deteriorating.

Hearing is crucial for any musician but Ms Black said she was “in denial” about her hearing loss for quite some time. 

‘It becomes embarrassing’

“You think of it in terms of being an old person thing but it’s not at all,” she told The Pat Kenny Show. 

“You can hardly see what I’ve got in my ears - I have them on now - and it’s very comfortable and you can answer your phone by pressing a little button on your ear and you talk, literally as I’m talking to you now, without having to open your phone and get your phone out. 

“There are a lot of pluses - but the main thing, of course, is that I can hear again.” 

For quite some time, Ms Black’s children suggested to her it would be worthwhile getting her hearing checked. 

“They’d walk in and the television would be blaring,” she said. 

“Or they might have to say things to me twice or three times if I’m not totally tuned into what they’re saying. 

“It becomes embarrassing - you don’t want to keep saying, ‘What?’ or ‘What did you say?’ or turning your good ear so you can hear.”

Irish Singer Mary Black at a concert in Dublin.PIc Photocall Ireland!

The transformation since she got her hearing aids has been “amazing” and she is experiencing the world anew again in so many ways. 

“I can hear the bird singing and the raindrops on the window,” she said. 

“Little things like that really have come alive again for me.”

Normalise hearing tests 

Specsavers audiologist Orla Walsh said Ms Black’s experience is not unusual and far too many people delay seeking treatment. 

“A little drop, even five decibels, will be enough to make us not make sense of what’s going on,” she said. 

“So, we’ll cope for so long and that’s what tends to happen - people don’t come to me till maybe 75, 80 - but at that stage they’re quite severe and they should have seen me maybe 20 years before that. 

“What we’re trying to do in Specsavers is try and normalise the behaviour around hearing loss and hearing tests. 

“We’re trying to encourage people to protect their hearing; not to listen to anything above 90 decibels for sustained periods but also to have your check-ups and if you do develop hearing loss, to have treatment earlier on.” 

In Census 2016, 103,676 people - or 2.2% of the population - recorded they had a hearing disability.

Main image: Singer Mary Black. Picture by: Rolling News.ie