Reverend Richard Coles is now required to wear hearing aids as he admitted his pop career took a toll on his hearing. The former Communard star, 62, has opened up about his struggles with hearing loss and hailed the impact of his new state-of-the-art Bluetooth aids “revelatory”. The Strictly Come Dancing star, who came third in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! last year explained he only began to take his hearing issues seriously when his tinnitus became overwhelming. He told The Times that despite the significant warning signs, he would become irritated when friends would tell him to turn the TV down.

"The audiologist sat me in a soundproofed booth, gave me headphones and instructed me to listen for tones at various pitches," he told the publication. "The graph displayed a drop steeper than Tesla's share price in my response to high frequencies — the first casualty of the kind of damage too much loud sound can cause." He was given two tiny hearing aids, which offer a variety of settings including adjustable volume and the ability to tune into conversation or background noise depending on the occasion.

Richard realised how good his hearing aids were when he attended the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra and Festival Chorus in Walton's Belshazzar's Feast after years of criticising the playing ability of musical performers.

He wrote: "I wondered if hearing aids would offer only slight improvement rather than life-transforming change, but then I went to a concert.

"It was revelatory — not only a fine performance, but the sound in the hall was crisp, lively, full of attack and sparkle. I have noticed my piano playing has improved, now I can hear more of it, and my friends say my speech has improved as well."

Despite wearing his new state-of-the-art Bluetooth aids that haven't completely solved his hearing issues as he admitted isolating voices in a busy room can still be tricky, making outings to busy restaurants a challenge.

Thankfully, the former pop star has found a solution - taking friends to unpopular eateries at off-peak times so the place is practically empty.

Richard was a member of hit British band Bronski Beat from 1983 until he formed the Communards with Jimmy Somerville in 1985.

The duo released music for just three years but in that time they managed to land 1986's top-selling single, a version of Don't Leave Me This Way.