A solo singer was almost forced to quit his local male voice choir after he lost his hearing. Grandfather of two David Llewellyn was a regular member of Tenby Male Voice Choir and singing was a hobby he loved.

But after noticing signs of hearing loss over a number of years, David suddenly completely lost his hearing in one ear making it impossible to join in with the rest of the choir, let alone sing solos.

After taking medical advice from Wales' largest independent hearing specialist Hearing Aid Solutions, 64-year-old David is encouraging other people who are ignoring their hearing problems to do the same.

It was 10 years ago when David started to notice his hearing deteriorating. He started having to ask friends to repeat themselves and misunderstanding what his wife was saying to him.

David, of Tenby, was just 54-years-old and didn't pay too much attention to the problem until he woke up one morning and he had completely lost the hearing in one of his ears.

He said: "It had been coming on gradually for a number of years. I used to make silly remarks to my wife Sally because I had misheard her -she'd ask me a question and I would think she said something else. On one occasion over breakfast she said she would make us some eggs if I read the post. So I sat down and read the post, but when the eggs were ready, she asked me where the toast was. She'd actually asked me to make the toast, not to read the post. It only seems a silly incident and we laughed about it, but there were lots of times that things like this would happen."

It takes the average person seven years to seek help from the onset of a hearing problem, but this can mean you are leaving it too long.

Martyn Scott, managing director of Wales' largest independent hearing specialist Hearing Aid Solutions, said: "A staggering 41 per cent of the population aged between 50 and 70 suffer some form of hearing loss, rising to 71 per cent of over 70s.

"Seven years is a very long time to struggle with hearing problems without any help, although this is improving. We are now fitting people with hearing aids in their 50s rather than people waiting until they are in their 60s and 70s. People are realising they have got to do something about it and we want to increase that awareness.

"A lot of people are reluctant and don't want to start wearing hearing aids, but you need to communicate with your family and friends and in the end this is more important. There may be a medical problem or wax build up that can be sorted out, but either way, help is out there and it is vital that it is sought."

For David, the problem became much worse five years ago when he suddenly lost the hearing in his left ear overnight.

He said: "I answered the telephone one morning and couldn't hear anything, so I hung up. It rang again and I still couldn't hear anyone there, so I put the phone down again. When my wife picked it up, it was her sister who said she was talking and I wasn't answering her. It had become fairly drastic, so I decided it was time to seek some help."

David, who was born in Tylorstown, Rhondda, and is grandfather to Daisy, 13, and Lily, three, took a hearing test with Hearing Aid Solutions in Carmarthen, who fitted him with a hearing aid. The change was so good that David returned a year later to have a second hearing aid.

He continued: "When I first went for a hearing test they thought that the sudden loss in my left ear was because of a virus. But they also thought that the type of my hearing loss was caused by the environment. I worked in a laboratory which wasn't particularly loud, but when I was a youngster I used to go clubbing with live bands and the music was very loud. I'm sure it damaged my hearing, but you don't realise it at the time. I pity the youngsters now who go round in their cars with the music blasting out and listen to such loud music in clubs and on their iPods. It must be doing damage to your hearing if you do it all the time.

"If I knew when I was 20 what I know now, I would have taken more care of my hearing.

"I used to sing solo with Tenby Male Voice Choir, but when I couldn't hear, I just lost my confidence, standing in the middle of the choir was too much for me. I was almost in the process of packing it all in.

"Once I had my two hearing aids, it was strange being able to hear so much all at once again as my brain wasn't used to it. Then when I sang, I could only hear my own voice and not everyone else's, so I ended up singing too loudly. Now I have a remote control in my pocket for both ears, which means I can hear others more than myself and I can gauge what volume to pitch my voice. It's helped me tremendously. I'm so happy to be able to stay with the choir, I'm even thinking of doing a solo again. I would really have missed singing and if I hadn't got sorted out with hearing aids I would have had to pack it in. It's absolutely changed my life.

"People think that hearing loss is an old person's complaint, but it isn't. I don't see myself as being old and it's surprising how many younger people wear hearing aids. I'm also still at an age where I'm a little bit vain, so I'm pleased that the hearing aids are really small so nobody notices them.

"The problem I had was due to the loss of hearing at certain frequencies of sound, which meant I lost the ability to hear ladies' voices in particular. This has always been a joke with my wife, although it had its advantages as I couldn't hear what she was asking me to do. But Hearing Aid Solutions were able to programme my hearing aid to the sound of her voice using a computer, which has improved the situation. Although now, I no longer have any excuses as I can hear her voice clearly."