Countryfile’s John Craven shares health worries as problems ‘increasing’

Countryfile presenter John Craven has said his body ‘started to break down’ as he turned eighty after having been in good health for most of his life

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Countryfile: John Craven jokes about ‘blue fingers’

John Craven has shared his health concerns as he fears parts of his body are ‘starting to fail’.

The Countryfile presenter, 81, said that after being in pretty good health for most of his life, he’s been feeling the pinch since turning 60.

The famous TV star previously said that from the age of 40, his eyesight was getting worse and worse, and over the course of two decades, he found his hearing was challenged.

Last month, John told the Daily Mail that he was nervous about appearing on television while wearing glasses because he thought there would be negative comments from viewers.

Fortunately, this proved to be a false worry and John’s looks were not the subject of discussion after all.

He said: “At first, I was worried what people would say about me wearing glasses on TV but there was no comment.

“Then, in my 60s, my hearing started to decline.

“I couldn’t strike up a conversation in crowded places, the sounds of nature were muffled and ‘say it again’ started to become a common response.”

John spent more than 50 years working in television with his first presentation role, with John Craven’s Newsround in 1972, after he landed a working role on another BBC children’s programme. .

In addition to being one of the presenters on the BBC’s Countryfile, John is also taking the time to encourage people to get their hearing tested and break down barriers around hearing aids after 56% of people admitted that they feel stigmatized when wearing them.

In September last year, John said that about 15 years ago, he realized he was struggling to hear what other people were saying.

“It all started about 15 years ago when I started to realize I was having trouble hearing certain voices and sounds,” says John.

“I think people are mumbling when they are not. ‘Please say it again’ has become an all-too-common response for family, friends and co-workers, and in crowded rooms it’s hard to keep track of conversations.

“I used to tell myself that I had developed ‘selective hearing’, but the truth is that I have become a bit deaf.

“In the end, I faced the fact that I needed help, got a free test at Specsavers, and my world changed.”

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