Geordie Shore star Holly Hagan's secret health battle after 'struggling'

Geordie Shore star Holly Hagan has opened up about her long-term hidden health struggle that led to her getting hearing aids.

The 31-year-old reality star made an emotional Instagram post on Monday, telling her followers how she can finally hear properly after years of hardship.

She discussed her reliance on lip-reading due to significant hearing loss, which made everyday conversations a challenge, reports OK! Magazine. She posted a candid video discussing the stigma around young people needing hearing aids and revealed: "Finally getting my hearing sorted with Boots Hearingcare after struggling for over 7/8 years. I'm ranked severe for certain sounds which explains why turning up the TV never helped."

The reality star opened up about the effort it took to understand people, saying: "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."

Holly highlighted how the pandemic exacerbated her condition as face masks prevented her from lip-reading, which was crucial for her.

Detailing the impact that coronavirus restrictions had, she said: "Covid made it worse since I realised I lip read and masks made it 10x harder. The difference with hearing aids was overwhelming but incredible. I'm starting at 70% to let my brain adapt."

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. They also have great features like built-in Bluetooth so I don't need headphones anymore."

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Encouraging others to take action, she stated: "I would say to anyone who is struggling with their hearing to go to Boots Hearingcare and get it checked, it's honestly so worth it, my only regret is not doing this sooner."

Highlighting the services available, she added: "If you're over 50 you can get a free hearing test at Boots Hearingcare. If you're under 50, you need to be referred by your GP for your free hearing test at Boots Hearingcare."

Holly first came into the limelight regarding her hearing back in 2018 when she opened up about being advised by medical professionals that she required hearing aids.

Action on Hearing Loss lauded her candidness at the time, tweeting: "Well done for speaking publicly about your hearing loss. It affects people of all ages and it's important that more people are made aware of their. hearing health and the support available."

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