A study of 2,000 adults revealed a fifth have asked for directions which they then got completely wrong, while 14 per cent have made an error at work after not hearing what was said.
The typical adult finds themselves in four awkward or embarrassing situations a month because they’ve misheard what someone has said, a new study has found.
However, the study, commissioned by Scrivens Opticians & Hearing Care, found the average adult is only willing to ask someone to repeat themselves twice before things become too awkward.
As a result 67 per cent have resorted to pretending to hear what’s been said, because they are too embarrassed to ask again.
Common responses include simply nodding (65 per cent), making a neutral response such as “Hmmm” (59 per cent) and laughing under the assumption they’ve been told a joke (36 per cent).
A spokesperson for Scrivens said: “As the research shows, mishearing or not hearing something can make us feel uncomfortable.
“As a nation we don’t like to cause offence or make others feel uneasy so often we’ll resort to going along with it in order to save face or put that person at ease.”
The survey also found 49 per cent revealed mishearing or not hearing what others say is a common occurrence for them.
The study also found almost four in 10 have avoided calling someone by their name because they didn’t catch it initially and felt too much time had passed for them to ask again.
But 20 per cent have called someone by the wrong name repeatedly, according to the OnePoll research.
Others have missed appointments and thought someone was flirting with them when they weren’t.
More than half of those polled tend to have difficulty understanding words, especially against background noise or in crowd situations.
While 50 per cent frequently need to ask others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly.
And a fifth have even avoided socialising because they are concerned they’ll struggle to hear what people say.
