We sat down with footballing great Stuart Pearce to hear about the moments that shaped his career, how he continues to indulge his love for the game, and the personal experience that led him to get involved with Hearing Dogs.
Stuart Pearce is one of England’s best-known and most-loved football icons. A former England international, Stuart was renowned during his career for his passion, leadership and uncompromising commitment. After a distinguished playing and coaching career, he remains a respected voice in football and is a valued advocate and supporter of Hearing Dogs.
Football chose me! I was at QPR as a 13-year-old, then I went down the non-league route and became an electrician for Brent Council. Six weeks before qualifying, Coventry watched me play, and within days I had an offer and I left my job to play in the Premier League equivalent. Believe it or not, I had to take a pay cut! After joining Coventry and later Nottingham Forest, I continued my electrical business, even advertising in the match programme. I only stopped when I was selected for England.
Captaining England from 1991 to 1994 – football was always about the team for me.
Having missed a penalty in the World Cup semi-final six years earlier, there was a real sense of relief. If I hadn’t scored, I’d probably be living in Germany now!
This summer’s World Cup was my fourth as a pundit for TalkSport. And now the football season has started, I’ll be commentating regularly. I love being at games and go to an average of two a week. Later this year, I’m coaching young kids in the Maldives and Croatia.
I am now, but back in the 1970s punk scene in London, I didn’t give it a second thought. We’d stand at the front and our ears would be ringing for a day or two afterwards. I still love going to gigs, but now I stand further back.
My wife Carol only has about 12% hearing in one ear. Sometimes I’ll speak to her and get no response. I have to remind myself that she simply hasn’t heard. It’s very easy to misunderstand the challenges people with hearing loss face.
I also regularly visit Hearing Dogs’ The Grange restaurant, where a couple of volunteers are profoundly deaf. It makes you appreciate how isolating it can be when you can’t fully join in conversations happening around you.
Carol introduced me to the charity. She volunteers in the charity’s Buckinghamshire restaurant - and has done for five years now. I’ve also supported the charity by donating prize money from my appearances on Tipping Point and Celebrity Mastermind.
At first, I couldn’t understand why dogs were trained to help deaf people. But the more I learned about hearing loss and how isolating it can be, the more it made sense.
Even now, when I talk to people about the charity, it’s only when I explain practical situations - like a deaf person not hearing a fire alarm - that the penny drops.
It came from Carol. When she was little, her family looked after hearing dogs at weekends through the charity’s ‘bed and breakfast’ scheme.
Travel is one of life’s joys for us, so we don’t have a dog ourselves - but we’d love a dog one day.
A huge thank you to Stuart and Carol for their continued support. From Carol's childhood connection with the charity to her volunteering today, and Stuart's dedication to raising awareness and funds - together they're helping transform lives impacted by hearing loss.
Donate to Hearing Dogs and your kindness will help transform the lives of people living with hearing loss. Any donation – big or small – makes a huge difference to those we support.
Registered charity in England and Wales no. 293358 and in Scotland no. SC040486. Royal Patron HRH The Princess Royal.