Lisa Beckwith admits that “pride” may have prevented her from dealing with hearing loss for a decade. But now, the general manger of rugby league team the Keighley Cougars is the public face of a campaign to raise awareness of the signs and causes of it in midlife.

The mother-of-three, 50, from Bingley, is teaming up with the organisers of the nationwide LoveYourEars campaign, run by specialists Hidden Hearing, after finally taking action to address a change in her hearing earlier this year.

Lisa is featuring in promotions and sharing her story to encourage more people in their 40s and 50s to get tested sooner and to tackle the “stigma” that prevents many from seeking help.

She says: “I first noticed my hearing loss ten years ago when I was 40. Just little things at first, like having to ask people to repeat themselves, having the TV on too loud and people walking into the room saying ‘turn it down’, and the kids shouting ‘mum, I’ve been calling and calling you and you haven’t responded’.

Lisa Beckwith, general manager of the Keighley Cougars.

“In big group get-togethers or in a noisy restaurant I really struggled to hear what was going on, so I adapted my behaviour when it came to going out and socialising and avoided these situations. I also really struggled with telephone calls, so started to cut conversations with family and friends short because I found them so tiring. I put off having my hearing tested for years. When I finally went for a hearing test in Leeds city centre, I was really surprised to discover that my problem isn’t with volume, it’s with clarity. It didn’t matter how loud the TV was or how much my children shouted, it wasn’t the volume that was the problem, it was the clarity and tone of the sound that was preventing me from hearing properly. When the audiologist said I needed hearing aids I wasn’t shocked. I knew I had been postponing wearing them for quite a long time. I think I delayed getting hearing aids because of vanity and pride – I didn’t want to admit I was getting older.”

Associating changes to hearing and wearing hearing aids with feeling and looking old is a common reason for many not seeking help, according to Dr Dalia Tsimpida, a hearing research scientist, lecturer in public health and Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy within the Health Inequalities Policy Research Group at The University of Liverpool.

Her national research on hearing loss prevalence in England has found women aged over 50 to be at higher risk of not recognising the symptoms and among the least likely to seek help.

Dr Tsimpida says: “People persevere with declining hearing for many years before they seek help. It’s time to move the conversation on beyond hearing loss and ageing and to stop putting off doing something about it. We’re talking about a major but avoidable health challenge that can have severe physical, social, cognitive, economic and emotional consequences on our quality of life. By taking action to preserve our hearing, we are investing much more broadly in our wider future health and wellbeing.”

Lisa Beckwith, fronting the Love Your Ears campaign. ©Gareth Davies

Lisa believes that ignorance of the wider health impact of hearing loss and of what wearing a hearing aid actually involves played a big part in her years of denial.

“In my head, hearing aids were fuddy-duddy and for grandmas and looked like they did in the 1970s and 1980s when they were these great big things that whistled all the time and ran out of batteries. That’s just not the case now.

“My hearing aids are incredibly discreet – you don’t even notice I’m wearing them. They’re super comfortable and easy to wear and, most importantly, they’ve changed my life. I hadn’t noticed how tired I was getting and how exhausting it was concentrating on people’s voices before I wore a hearing aid. I’m more revitalised now, and have way more energy.”

Another benefit is the increased self-esteem that Lisa has certainly noticed since her diagnosis. “My job is very demanding and involves me keeping a group of very rowdy men in check. It can knock your self-esteem when you aren't able to hear properly but having my hearing aids gives me confidence in dealing with the array of daily issues and problems that come up running a rugby club.”

She adds: “We don’t shy away from getting our eyes tested and wearing glasses if we can’t see, but that’s still not the case with hearing. We need to normalise the wearing of hearing aids in our 40s and 50s to remove the stigma.”

Keighley Cougars general manager Lisa Beckwith fronts hearing loss awareness campaign