NORTHERN IRELAND’S First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have both disclosed they suffer from hearing difficulties.
Mr Robinson, at the launch of a new office for Action on Hearing Loss in Northern Ireland, joked that their hearing problems were the reason they operated so effectively together.
Mr Robinson said that he has less than 20 per cent hearing in his left ear while Mr McGuinness said his problem was in his right ear.
The First Minister said the problem began two years ago. “I woke up one morning, having gone to bed the night before being able to hear with both ears, to find out that, with my left ear, I couldn’t hear anything at all,” he recalled in Belfast yesterday.
“Clearly the first reaction is alarm and some kind of panic and then you start to work around it: make sure that you’re facing people,” added Mr Robinson.
Mr McGuinness said that he had had tinnitus for about the last 10 years. “It’s a very low ringing noise in my ear, but it’s something that I can cope with,” he said.
He added that Mr Robinson’s hearing difficulty was much more difficult. “I think there’s no comparison between the challenges that he faces and the challenges I face.”
“Now you know the secret of how we work so well together,” said Mr Robinson.