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93 Year Old Duke of Edinburgh Spotted Out With Hearing Aid for First Time

93 year old Prince Philip is getting on a bit, so it’s no surprise that he was recently spotted out and about with the Queen wearing a hearing aid. What is surprising, however, is that this is the first time he has ever been spotted with one. The Duke of Edinburgh was given a pair of ear defenders 3 years ago on his ninetieth, and in good humour he responded with ‘will I be able to listen to Radio 3 with these?’.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip

Quite different to a pair of ear defenders, Prince Philip was fitted with hearing aids worn on a public outing last Tuesday. It would take a keen eye to spot them in person though. They were detected by a single thin wire positioned next to the Duke’s ears.

It comes as no surprise that Prince Philip would want something discreet. Nothing is too good for a Royal! These devices are available on the NHS, but nobody has denied or confirmed whether that is where the Prince obtained his.

It isn’t hard to see why the Prince would need a hearing aid at his age. He makes appearances at loud events often, and must speak to all kinds of people from members of the public to our armed forces. Hearing loss is also associated with aging, and the Prince is certainly at a ripe old age at 93 years.

The event where he decided to debut them for the first time was in honour of receivers of the George Cross and Victoria Cross. The Queen of course accompanied Philip to the event, although hearing aids were not spotted on her Majesty.

Joe Little, who manages Majesty Magazine, says the Prince has done very well to do without the aids for so long, what with all of the public appearances he makes. His hearing has obviously been impaired for some time though, as the Queen always seems to be explaining things going on around him to the Prince. These aids are definitely improving his quality of life.

Unfortunately, a Royal spokesperson did not want to make comment on this, as it is a medical and personal matter to Prince Philip. However, an employee at Action on Hearing Loss explained that the device would be one of two available from the NHS. There are more available, of course, and it isn’t hard to find out more info. There is usually a type of hearing aid to suit every lifestyle.

The Duke’s device is either an open fit hearing age, which has an earpiece at the tip of the tubing, or a device with a receiver inside his ear.

You can even get smaller tubing on the NHS for free, which it looks as if the Duke has done judging by his thin wires.

We say well done to the Duke for coping so long without his hearing aids, but an even bigger well done to him for taking the steps to improve his quality of life!

 

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