Illuminated23 Nov 2025

Hearing Aids

Like so many people at a similar time of life, the poet Paul Farley is facing up to the fact that he might need hearing aids. His wife has been asking him to turn down the volume on the telly for years, and has given up shouting downstairs for him because he never hears.

Out in cafes and pubs, Paul can no longer really follow what people are saying to him, and so he often turns down invitations knowing he can’t turn up the volume. Even worse, for Paul at least, is the fact he can no longer hear the high frequencies of his beloved birdsong.

Now, though, all that could change as he heads for a test at his local opticians to get his own NHS hearing aids fitted. He also speaks with Gabrielle Saunders, Professor of Audiology at the University of Manchester, about the past and future of hearing aids, and also the truth about the supposed connection between dementia and hearing loss.

Paul also visits the near total silence of Salford University’s anechoic chamber so that he can hear himself think properly - and looks forward to a time when he might once again be able to listen to the birds.

Presented by Paul Farley Produced by Geoff Bird Executive Producers: Eloise Whitmore and Jo Meek

A Naked production for BBC Radio 4

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