Ken Barlow actor William Roache reveals hearing problem

[dutchman]

Coronation Street star William Roache has revealed he is partially deaf and requires special treatment on the set of the ITV1 soap.

The 77-year-old, who plays Ken Barlow, is 50% deaf in both ears and requires visual cues to prompt him.

"Deafness is extremely isolating," he said. "I live in a cocooned world."

Roache, a founding member of the soap's cast, said he damaged his hearing as a young soldier, when a bomb exploded at close range during a training exercise.

"I was 21, I was an officer, it was a training exercise but with live ammunition, and some over-keen guy pulled the bomb up and I got the full blast of the explosion right by my ear," he said.

"I could not hear at all for three weeks."

But the actor did not realise the extent of the damage until he had a hearing test after agreeing to front the Sound Barrier Star Awards, which recognise achievements in people who are hard of hearing.

He has since had a hearing aid fitted, but says his condition can still be "extremely isolating".

"I could be having a normal conversation and certain things I just won't hear. I can't hear watches or alarms, footsteps or the rustling of paper."

At work, he added, "the floor manager has to give me a visual cue, a hand signal, and it is just something that I have learned to live with.

"I have put up with it all these years."