IF you haven't heard of Osher Gunsberg by now, all the more reason to get your hearing checked.
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The popular personality is a fixture on Australian TV sets these days, but is going back to his roots to encourage people to look after their aural health.
Gunsberg rose to prominence on pay TV music network Channel V under the name Andrew G and became a household name as co-host of Australian Idol.
It was when he was working as Andrew G that he first started to experience problems with hearing loss.
"I first noticed that my hearing wasn't quite right when I was signing photos for the audience back during my time at Channel V," he said.
"I was asking people for their name so that I could personalise the autograph message when I realised I must not be hearing words properly."
"I was thinking to myself - wow, Farah is a pretty rare name and I've met two of them today! I kept being met with puzzled expressions and it was then that I realised I was hearing F instead of S."
The TV personality said he remembered frequent feelings of isolation and of not being connected with those around him due to his inability to hear certain sounds or words.
"It was affecting how I connected with people at work, but more importantly began to drastically affect my close personal relationships."
Osher said he hoped sharing his own experiences would encourage others to take control of their hearing health by completing Connect Hearing's five minute Speech Perception Test (SPT).
The test was created by Connect Hearing's sister company Blamey Saunders and takes just five minutes to complete.
Upon completion, people are given scores out of 50 based on how many words they missed and how many they heard correctly.
Connect Hearing managing director Michelle Lawson said the test was easy to understand and could be completed from anywhere.
"All you need is a computer, mobile phone or tablet with speakers or a headphone connection.
"The SPT helps you to understand your hearing health today and provides a baseline to measure against in the future.
To take the test click here.
