Deafness affects so many of us
In my late 20s I started to notice that I was finding it hard to hear what people were saying, particularly at work. If someone stood next to my desk and said something in a quiet voice, or asked me a quick question in a meeting, I'd miss parts of it and wouldn't be able to contribute. I just felt a bit 'thick' really; as if I was just not following things while everyone else seemed perfectly able to.
I was working as a finance director at the time - a role that came with private medical cover and, as such, I received full medicals which included a hearing test. It seems obvious now but, at the time, it never really occurred to me that I might be deaf. When the doctor informed me that I had the hearing of someone in their 70s, I felt relieved: now there was a reason why I couldn't hear people properly.