GEORDIE Shore legend Holly Hagan revealed that she has got hearing aids after years of “suffering”.
The TV star, 31, explained how she has been “embarrassed” in the past after struggling to keep up with conversations.
Taking to Instagram she told fans that she’d been having difficulties for “7/8 years”.
Sharing a selfie, where she flashed a pout, she said: “I’m ranked severe for certain sounds which explains why turning up the TV never helped.
“I’ve worked so hard to decipher conversations and always felt embarrassed asking people to repeat themselves.
“I could tune into family but struggled with new voices in busy environments, often coming across as rude or uninterested,” she said.
The mum-of-one said that she became really aware of her hearing struggles over Covid.
She said that people wearing facemasks made things “10x harder”.
“The difference with hearing aids was overwhelming but incredible. I’m starting at 70% to let my brain adapt,” she wrote.
Holly said that she believes there is a stigma around hearing aids, which she wanted to tackle.
“There’s a stigma around hearing aids, but if you can’t see properly you wear glasses regardless of age, premature hearing loss can happen for many reasons,” she said.
“They also have great features like built in Bluetooth so I don’t need headphones anymore,” she added.
She shared a video of her having the test and showed fans what her new hearing aids looked like.
Holly said how she could “hear the birds chirping for the first time in years” and urged fans not to put off having their ears tested.
In the video she and her husband Jacob Blyth drove to the appointment and he asked if she was excited to have the test done.
She said that she had “forgotten what normal hearing felt like”.
Speaking over her reel, she said that she used to get so much anxiety when it came to getting in taxis and going to appointments due to her poor hearing.
Fans flocked to the comment section to share their own experiences and to praise her for being open.
“This is great Holly!” one fan wrote.
“Well done hunni, for coming out and saying something!!” said a second.
“Im so happy for you Holly, such a lovely lady , well done for speaking out and taking us along with you and educating us . I didn’t realise you could get such small hearing aids . X you look beautiful as always,” echoed a third.
She said how she had to really concentrate during the test[/caption]