Strictly Come Dancing star felt ‘isolated’ as they open up on hearing loss

What Not To Wear’s Susannah Constantine discussed the moment she realised she was losing her hearing and felt “isolated” on Friday’s instalment of Lorraine.

The former Strictly Come Dancing contestant explained she was starting to notice problems with her hearing when she was in large groups of people.

“If I was sitting next to someone I could not hear what they were saying,” the 61-year-old shared.

“If they’d turn their back to me and I couldn’t read their lips, I’m stuck.

“I began to feel kind of isolated and I could see how frustrated people were getting with me, like my children.

“They’d be like, ‘For God’s sake mum, are you deaf?’ No, I’m not deaf!”

The presenter explained “the moment of truth” came when she was sitting in a barrel of cold water trying to listen to the birds in her garden.

“Growing up in nature, I love listening to the birds,” Susannah said. “I realised I couldn’t actually differentiate between the different birds – and I pride myself on being a bit of a twitcher.

“So I took myself off to Boots hearing care who I am now working with.”

Susannah told host Lorraine Kelly she’d spent a lifetime in loud environments and listening to music with her headphones.

She told The Mirror earlier this month: “I won’t lie, I did feel ashamed in a way. There are lots of young kids who have hearing disorders, which is obviously completely different.

“For me, it’s always been one of the greatest physical signs of ageing, like wrinkles and dentures.

“There can be a huge stigma around wearing hearing aids, I felt like I might as well go to the funeral director and order my coffin, it made me feel so old.”

However, after having a hearing aid fitted, Susannah described it as “transformative” and “comfortable”.

According to Healthwatch England, 12 million people are affected by hearing loss across the UK, with the greatest amount of hearing loss in the 60 to 69 age group.

Lorraine airs on weekdays at 9am on ITV and ITVX.