Dave Mellor knew he had a problem with his hearing after finding himself avoiding conversations for fear of humiliating himself. “Going out in a group, riding side by side, is all about having a bit of craic with your mates,” he tells me over the phone. “But over time, I had stopped engaging. I’d be out on social group rides and forever saying, ‘Say that again’.” Struggling to hear clearly enough to chat while cycling is a common problem, but it’s one many riders are reluctant to admit.
“I’d also find myself saying, ‘Yeah, yeah’,” continues Mellor, “pretending to have heard and hoping that ‘yeah’ was a suitable answer. It got a bit embarrassing and I was missing out on all the banter.”
