More than 270,000 people in Wales may be losing their hearing but doing nothing about it so the day aims to encourage people to call Breaking the Sound Barrier’s simple, confidential, five minute telephone hearing check on 0845 600 5555. 

The hearing check is part of the charity's Breaking the Sound Barrier Campaign, a bold campaign which aims to change attitudes towards hearing loss and hearing aids.  The campaign aims to reach out to the 4 million people in the UK* who are losing their hearing but doing nothing about it.

Catrin Fletcher, Director of RNID Cymru, says: "Hearing loss can have a profound impact on our lives, leaving many people feeling isolated and out of touch with their friends and family.  During our time in the centre of Cardiff we hope to encourage people to think about their hearing.”
“Over 40% of the over 50s experience some level of hearing loss, so if you think you or anyone you know might have some hearing loss, why not call 0845 600 5555 to take the five-minute check? Taking this first step could improve your life."

Cardiff is the latest stop on a UK-wide road show taking the campaign to key cities, which have included London, Manchester and Edinburgh, and will feature in Birmingham in the New Year.

Rhama Wood, Global Community Investment Co-ordinator, Barclays, comments: "We are delighted to lend our support to such an important campaign to enable RNID to spread the word about hearing loss to older people across the country. We hope the people of Cardiff take advantage of the telephone hearing check on the bus or when they get home."

A recent Ipsos MORI survey shows that almost half (46%) of adults in Britain believe that embarrassment about not being able to hear prevents people with hearing difficulties discussing their problem with others, or having a hearing test.

Over a quarter (27%) say this is because people with hearing difficulties worry other people would think they were getting old if they wore a hearing aid, and one in five (20%) say the reason is that people with hearing difficulties are concerned people would look at them and treat them differently if they wore a hearing aid.

For further information on Breaking the Sound Barrier visit www.breakingthesoundbarrier.org.uk and for further information on deafness and hearing loss please contact RNID’s information line on telephone 0808 808 0123, textphone 0808 808 9000 or visit www.rnid.org.uk

For further information about RNID Cymru, contact:
Monica Mahoney, RNID Cymru Campaigns Co-ordinator, telephone: 02920 333 034 or email: monica.mahoney@rnid.org.uk