Singer Lulu, 75, announces she has suffered hearing loss after experiencing ‘ringing in the ears’ as she begins her seventh decade of touring

LULU revealed she is suffering from hearing loss – now in her seventh decade of touring.

The 75-year-old Scottish pop star noticed a change in her hearing and had it checked after her performance at Glastonbury in June.

She admitted to suffering from tinnitus for years before learning that she now needs a hearing aid due to her moderate hearing loss.

For this reason, the “Shout” singer has teamed up with Specsavers, where she did her hearing test, and the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) to encourage concertgoers to steps to protect their hearing.

She said: “Having been on stage for most of my life, I have always noticed ringing and muffled sounds, but I never really thought anything of it.

“Music has always been a cornerstone of everything I do, so it’s incredibly important that I can still enjoy it.

“With hearing aids I can still hear every note.

“But it’s more than that – contact with people is an important part of my life and I want to be able to take part in conversations and not be excluded from them.

“The good news is that it is not too late for me to preserve the rest of my hearing.

“Plus, wearing hearing protection during live music is easy and straightforward and I would strongly recommend other people to wear one.

“Music is still my life and I plan to enjoy it for many years to come.”

Hearing loss due to festivals

The revelation came after a survey of 900 concert and festival fans found that half of them had suffered hearing damage due to loud music at performances.

Four in ten (42%) noticed a negative impact immediately after a performance, and 58% of them experienced ringing in their ears on the way to the exit.

And 35% of them had a muffled hearing sensation.

23% suffered temporary hearing loss and 22% even had ear pain.

The survey also found that concertgoers consider it more important to sit as far forward as possible and wear sturdy shoes than to protect their hearing.

And 46% will not wear hearing protection at concerts this summer – with fans of indie, rock and even classical music the least inclined to protect their hearing.

44% of these concertgoers believe that they would not be able to enjoy the concert experience with hearing protection and 36% believe that the quality of the music could deteriorate as a result.

And 23% do not believe that live music can damage their hearing.

Gordon Harrison, chief audiologist at Specsavers, said: “With festival season in full swing, it is crucial for music lovers to protect their hearing.

“Repeated exposure to high decibel levels at concerts and festivals can cause permanent damage such as noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus.

“In fact, hearing damage can occur at around 85 dB if you are exposed to this noise for eight hours – for example at a festival – and do not wear hearing protection.

“Every additional 3 dB of volume cuts the exposure time in half. So if the volume reaches 100 dB, which is still less than the average performance, hearing damage can occur after just 15 minutes – and that’s pretty scary.”

A separate survey by OnePoll questioned 100 employees in places where music was played loudly. The result was that 92% noticed a hearing impairment.

34% of them reported tinnitus and 31% reported hearing loss.

However, 32% rarely or never wear hearing protection, such as earplugs, at work. 53% say their employer has not provided them with such protection.

DJ Woody Cook suffers from tinnitus, which he believes is caused by loud music. He said: “Sometimes I feel like I have a constant electrical buzzing or high-pitched noise in my head, which makes me feel completely disorientated.”

“I love music – and of course work as a DJ – so my tinnitus has a massive impact on my private and professional life.

“I’m learning more about my hearing as time goes on and wish I had known about the risks earlier.

“I am now taking steps to protect my hearing from further damage and would like to encourage others to do the same, whether they are music fans or work in the industry themselves.”