Seven in ten adults in Britain struggle to hear conversations in noisy places due to a phenomenon known as the “cocktail party effect”, a poll shared with i suggests.
According to the survey, Generation Z – those born between 1997 and 2012 – are the worst affected, with 11.5 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds saying they “always” experience the condition – compared to 8 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds and 7.4 per cent of over 55s.
Meanwhile, 17 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds say they “never” experience it, compared to 23 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds and 28 per cent of over-55s.
Higher levels of headphone use among the youngest age group is thought to be the key reason for the difference.
Among all adults, when asked whether they struggle to hear conversations in noisy environments like busy cafes or pubs, 62 per cent of respondents said they “sometimes” or “occasionally” do.
Eight per cent said they “always” face the difficulty.
This kind of hearing difficulty is not as serious as being deaf, or having hearing loss and tinnitus, conditions which are less common and collectively affect one in five adults in the UK.
But it can be an early sign of hearing loss and make everyday life more difficult for people who experience it on a regular basis.
Cocktail party syndrome is thought to have some of the same causes as hearing loss more generally. These include people regularly using headphones at high volume, loud noises in the workplace, and increased levels of stress and anxiety.
The survey involved 2,001 UK adults and was carried out by Censuswide for eargym, the hearing health app set up by former NHS chief executive Amanda Philpott.
“The cocktail party effect might sound like a bit of fun, but if you’re frequently struggling to hear conversations in pubs and noisy places, it might not just be a result of too many cocktails,” Ms Philpott toldi.
“It’s telling that 18 to 24-year-olds were the most likely age group to say they ‘always’ struggle to hear conversations over background noise.
“This could be because they tend to spend more time in noisier venues like clubs and at gigs, making the cocktail party effect more likely. But it could also point to changes in young peoples’ hearing health more generally with many younger people aged 12 to 35 are at risk of permanent hearing damage due to unsafe listening, such as using headphones.”
Ms Philpott added: “When adults notice changes in their hearing they often wait years before seeking help, when they could have been protecting and prolonging their hearing that entire time.
‘On nights out I’d find myself unable to join in with conversations’
Christian Hill, 49, is one of 11 million people in the UK who suffer from hearing loss
Christian Hill, 49, paramedic and hearing aid user from Northamptonshire, says he soon began to develop hearing loss in his early forties.
Approximately 11 million people in the UK suffer from hearing loss, eight million of whom are aged over 60. Over time he realised that, despite being on the younger range of the scale, he was experiencing the cocktail party effect.
He told i: “I first started to find hearing conversations and talking with people more challenging and would have to constantly ask people to repeat themselves or move closer so that I could hear them better. I now recognise this as the cocktail party effect.
“On nights out I would find myself unable to join in with conversations as I couldn’t hear what people were saying. Trying to focus on what a person was saying with all the background noise was impossible at times.
“At first I thought, ‘It’s just one of those things,’ but over time it got to the point of frustration – not just for me, but for those around me. So I went to see my GP. I was diagnosed with hearing loss and fitted with a hearing aid.
“Both my hearing aid and hearing training have helped me to be much better at tuning into what I want to hear amongst background noise and distractions. I wish I’d sought help sooner.”
“If there’s one thing I would like people to take from this survey, it’s that we should all be checking our hearing just as often as we’re checking our teeth and eyes. There’s lots we can do to protect and prolong our hearing health, from regular checks to hearing training and wearing ear protection.”
Stephen Wheatley, chair of World Health Organisation’s Make Listening Safe campaign, told i: “I am very disappointed to learn just how many people are suffering. I am very concerned.”
He said that for many, the condition is an early step on the path to hearing loss: “Many of us are being routinely exposed to increasing levels of noise – which is sound you don’t want to hear – and sound – which you do want to hear – and this is prematurely, permanently damaging our hearing without us even knowing.
“Whilst the consequences of premature permanent hearing loss are bad enough, recent research suggests a correlation between hearing loss and cognitive decline which could be life-changing for those affected.”
The survey also found that 43 per cent ofrespondents had never had a hearing check in their adult life.
This contrasts with eye and dental checks. Survey respondents were four times more likely to have never had a hearing test than an eye test. Only 8 per cent said they had never been to the opticians since turning 18.
Almost a quarter said they had had between six and nine eye tests, with 12 per cent visiting the opticians 10 or more times.
More than a third had visited the dentist for a check-up or treatment six times or more.
“Let’s make hearing checks as normal and routine as dental and eye check-ups,” said Ms Philpott, who set up eargym with DJ Andy Shanks in 2020, after they were both diagnosed with hearing loss.
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