Four Myths That Stop People Getting Their Eyes and Ears Tested

Many of us put off eye and hearing tests until symptoms are acute, by which time it can be too late. Marc Burrows explains why a check-up can reveal far more than whether you need glasses.

Ask people why they have not had an eye or hearing test in years, and the answer is rarely that they cannot be bothered. More often, it is that nothing hurts, they get by fine and they feel they probably do not need one.

‘Eye health is something our vendors definitely neglect,’ says Tom Watts, a Big Issue regional manager in south Wales. ‘Dental problems come with a lot of pain, so they feel urgent. An eye issue might not, so it’s often the last thing that gets addressed.’

That instinct, to wait for a warning sign, sits behind several myths that stop people looking after their sight and hearing. Here are four of the most common, and why none hold up.

Myth 1: ‘If I can use my phone, my eyesight is fine’

Vision rarely fails all at once. It slips slowly enough that you adjust, holding the screen a little closer or squinting in dim light. Many conditions cause no symptoms early on, such as glaucoma, which damages the optic nerve long before you would notice.

A modern sight test includes an OCT scan that can detect glaucoma up to four years earlier than it otherwise would be found.

‘Some conditions can be sight-threatening without showing symptoms,’ says Specsavers optometrist Kham Garland. ‘Catching changes early helps prevent vision loss.’

Myth 2: ‘Eye tests are only about getting glasses’

The back of the eye is the one place a clinician can see your blood vessels and nerves directly, without a single incision, which makes a sight test a window onto the rest of your body.

Diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol can all leave traces in the eye, frequently before any other symptom appears, and more rarely a test can flag the warning signs of a tumour.

For Bruce, who accessed care via a homelessness clinic, an eye test did exactly that.

‘Jane [the optician] picked up that I had a problem with my eyes and referred me to Manchester Royal Infirmary,’ he says. ‘They picked up something that could be really serious if I fell or hit my head.’

Around one in 10 people seen through Specsavers’ homelessness programme is referred on to a GP or hospital, well above the high street average.

Myth 3: ‘Hearing loss is just part of ageing’

Hearing does change with age, but treating decline as the price of getting older keeps people from help that could transform daily life, and it starts younger than most realise.

‘There’s still this idea that hearing devices are just for older people,’ says Annie Morris, a hearing expert at Specsavers. ‘People say, “My dad had them, but he was in his 70s,” so they think, “I’m not there yet.” But hearing loss can happen at any age.’

It begins early. Hearing declines gradually because the tiny hair cells in the inner ear never regenerate. You get one set for life, in a world that has never been noisier.

Left alone, the effects run deeper than muffled conversation.

‘It can lead to isolation and even impact cognitive health, so the earlier it’s picked up, the better,’ says Specsavers audiologist Marwaan Mahmoud.

In 2024, The Lancet Commission on dementia named hearing loss among the largest modifiable risk factors for the condition.

Often, though, the culprit is simpler than people fear.

‘Wax gets such a bad rep, but honestly, it’s completely normal,’ says Morris. ‘A build-up that blocks sound can usually be cleared in one painless appointment.’

Myth 4: ‘You only need a test if something feels badly wrong’

By the time something feels wrong, the simplest window for treatment has often closed. A test is how problems get caught while they are still easy to deal with.

‘Sometimes people have eye conditions that they aren’t even aware of,’ says optical assistant Leah Watson. ‘It’s vital to get regular check-ups.’

Hearing loss is the same, and its early signs are easy to explain away: turning the television up, asking people to repeat themselves.

Often, though, the main barrier is money. Preventative care is the first thing to go when budgets are stretched.

One vendor described what new glasses used to mean:

‘It might be 60, 70 quid. Then you go, what am I eating? What about electricity?’

That is the barrier that Specsavers’ homelessness scheme is designed to remove.

Since November 2022, Specsavers’ partnership with Big Issue has offered vendors free eye and ear care, and the scheme has since grown to include anyone experiencing homelessness. There is no fixed address required, no paperwork and no cost.

Because we all deserve to know what our eyes and ears are telling us.