I'm 46 now and in the last 10 years my hearing has become dreadful - I realised a few years back that I was basically lip reading in crowded places, pubs etc - and in the last couple of years I have developed tinnitus - on the days it's bad, it's all I can hear and it drives you mad.<br>Absolutely protect your hearing, you'll miss it when it's gone.Take care Tom 😊,(reply>), same age, and my physical hearing has always been great (now it's merely 'average for my age' which still FEELS horrible), but struggled with neurological 'figure-ground processing' disability.   <br><br><br>It's a mixed-blessing; I don't hear so much fascinatingly distracting background noise that I can't focus on the person right in front of me speaking TO me, but I do have tinnitus to the point that I LOATHE a quiet room...,(reply>), Rob Uttley awww, I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope your hearing doesn't get any worse.,(reply>), @justin that only works for a couple of minutes at best.,(reply>), There's a weird technique I only discovered recently that helps with tinnitus. It involves placing your hands over your ears and tapping the back of your skull with your fingers. There are a few vids out there about it, but it's definitely worth a shot if you have this issue. Doesn't work for everyone, but does for a lot.