Anne Diamond admits she’s partially deaf

Anne Diamond on TVam's Good Morning BritainThe former TV-am and ATV Today television presenter revealed her hearing loss as part of a new campain in support of Action on Hearing Loss. Other supporters of the cause include EastEnders actress Rita Simons and One Foot In The Grave actress Annette Crosbie.

In her message, Anne Diamond (pictured right on TV-am’s Good Morning Britain) admits for the first time she’s deaf in one ear. She says: ‘I have some form of hearing loss right now, after nearly 30 years of wearing a television earpiece. It’s what we call a talkback and I’ve always had it rather too loud.

‘While I don’t need to wear a hearing aid right now, I have been warned that I probably will need one quite soon. That’s why I’m supporting the Action on Hearing Loss campaign; to reach out to the 4 million people in the UK who, like me, have some sort of hearing loss and who would benefit from wearing a hearing aid but have done nothing about it yet.

‘I can’t possibly imagine not being able to do the job I love, or even the simple everyday things like sitting round a family table and enjoying a meal and being able to listen to the conversation around me.

‘Yet, with the help of Action on Hearing Loss, there’s no need to miss out on life. They provide a simple, free hearing check that you can do in your own home, explain what to expect from your doctor, and make the whole world of hearing aids so much simpler.’

Anne Diamond was just one of a string of celebrities to have recorded video messages of support for the charity Action on Hearing Loss.

Rita Simons of soap opera EastEnders fame says, ‘My beautiful daughter Maiya is deaf and wears hearing aids on both ears. I’m supporting Action on Hearing Loss because I want Maiya to grow up and have the same opportunities as her twin sister Jamie, who has normal hearing. My whole world nearly fell apart five years ago when Maiya was born and we were told she had sensory neural hearing loss. But we never ever wanted her to miss out on life. She relies a lot on lipreading, but her speech is incredible and you would never know she was deaf. Of course, Maiya knows she wears hearing aids and knows she can’t hear without them, but she doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with her and certainly doesn’t think she’s any different.’

One Foot In The Grave stars Richard Wilson and Annette Crosby add, ‘I’m partially deaf in both ears and I wear hearing aids – and I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m supporting Action on Hearing Loss because my hearing matters to me. If you’re worried about your hearing, get it checked today.’ Says Wilson, Crosby adds, ‘I’m sitting here with a hearing aid in each ear. That’s why I support Action on Hearing Loss because I know what it’s like to go slowly deaf, and I know what a difference it can make to your life to have a hearing aid.’

Deaf actress Genevieve Barr also recorded a video for the charity, formerly called RNID, stating, ‘I’m supporting Action on Hearing Loss because I’m profoundly deaf and I wear hearing aids on both ears. I’m very lucky to have had the opportunities I’ve had, and I want to live in a world where all deaf and hard of hearing people get the same opportunities’.

The videos show a number of varying campaigns such as promoting how the organisation is trying to remove the stigma of hearing aids. Each video has been subtitled and BSL interpreted.

Action on Hearing Loss Director of Public Engagement Emma Harrison says: ‘We’re really grateful to all our celebrity supporters for taking the time to record these videos; they’ve been great friends of ours over the last 12 months. It’s thanks to their support that more people are completing our hearing check and taking action on their hearing loss sooner.’

To view the videos, log onto www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/celebrities