On the frontline 

BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson talks about coping with hearing loss after a ‘friendly fire’ incident in Iraq left him deaf in one ear.

 “I recently attended an awards dinner and couldn’t hear what the person next to me was saying. I explained about my hearing loss but could tell they didn’t really understand what it’s like to be deaf. It’s very difficult for hearing people to understand the problems deaf people face. When I can’t hear what people are saying I find myself starting to withdraw from the conversation. I’ve been told there’s a chance I may get some hearing back, but I’m not sure how likely that is.”

Smoking and hearing loss

Nicotine in cigarette smoke constricts blood vessels, which results in less blood flowing through arteries, veins and capillaries. This is why heavy smoking often leads to heart disease and, in extreme cases, gangrene of the hands and feet.  Hearing function also relies on blood flow to the ear, especially the inner ear. Nicotine therefore adversely affects the ear by constricting the blood vessels and preventing an adequate supply. 

Last word … with columnist Michael Simmons

When your hearing goes, the odds are that you read more. Books at bedtime become a whole new world. But if you are – as many people in Britain are known to be – a compulsive reader of newspapers, then you’re very possibly reading about people and things you don’t really want to know about – paedophiles, politicians and professional footballers, for example.

I propose a website - War on Weary Words: Drive Out Tack (or Dot for short). It would ban headline-writers from using words like ‘horror’, ‘shock’, ‘sensation’ and that strange hybrid ‘PoshnBecks’. With support from an appropriate EU directive, the papers might become readable again. Any backers?