TV presenters urge people in rural areas to get their hearing checked
Do you love the calming countryside sounds of birds singing, lambs mewing, cockerels crowing or lapping lakes? As part of its Hearing Matters campaign, RNID is calling on people in rural areas to think about your favourite 'Sound of the Countryside' you'd miss the most if you lost your hearing.
Television presenters, David Bellamy, Chris Packham and Adam Henson, have revealed their favourite rural sounds in support of the charity's call encouraging people to take the charity’s specially developed hearing check and make sure you can keep hearing your favourite countryside sounds.
David Bellamy says: “On the rare occasions I do stop talking, I cherish the quieter background of the countryside because I can hear so many wonderful sounds!
"I love hearing all the conversations between wildlife, particularly betweens bats at night, and there’s nothing better than hearing the joy of children paddling in a countryside stream.”
Adam Henson added: "My favourite countryside sounds are found on my farm – the gentle grunt of a sow feeding her piglets to reassure them that all is well, the murmur from an ewe to a new-born lamb as the strong maternal bonding begins, and the skylark's songs as she dances on the air."
Chris Packham says: "There are so many great stirring sounds in the countryside and I'd especially miss the sounds of the wind, which create a fantastic natural atmosphere when it's whizzing through grass, howling through trees or whistling on mountain peaks.
"We're lending our voices to the Hearing Matters campaign and urge people to take the charity's check today so you can start addressing any hearing loss and continue hearing the rural sounds we all love."
Email your 'Sound of the Countryside' nominations along with your name and town or village to campaigns@rnid.org.uk by Thursday 31 December 2009.
