Gavin and Stacey’s Larry Lamb, 77, has opened up about a severe illness that left him feeling “like [he] was dying” – and left him with some chronic symptoms. The actor, who is also known for EastEnders, took a trip to Senegal a few years ago.
Larry visited the country to highlight the struggles of some of the world’s poorest children, and he then fell extremely ill after returning home. He suffered from a fever for months, which eventually affected his ears, causing complete deafness in one of them.
Discussing the ordeal previously, Larry said: “It’s been catastrophic. I’m famous for never being ill. But I went into complete physical meltdown. At one point I felt like I was dying. But the real shock was when I realised I couldn’t hear properly.”
Suspecting malaria as the cause, he explained how he stopped taking malaria pills prematurely: “We were in and out within a week. Back home in north London I felt fine, so stopped taking the Malarone pills. I’d been told I should take them for eight days after leaving Senegal, but didn’t understand why as I was completely well.
“But about three days later I began to feel ill. It was like the worst hangover I’d ever had. For a few days I had a fever which caused me to sweat and then cool again. I couldn’t sleep – I didn’t have the strength to do anything.”
After a horrendous stay in hospital where the star “felt as if [he] could die,” Larry became aware of some strange noises in his right ear, the Express reports. He added: “I’d never had any hearing problems and suddenly had really bad tinnitus, as if someone had hit me on the head”.
The hearing loss persisted despite efforts at treating him, and he was simply advised by doctors to “deal” with it. This proved challenging for his career, with Larry describing the experience: “It was hellish. If I was sitting with two or three friends, it was impossible to follow the conversation. I suddenly understood why people with hearing loss can become isolated. It was such a strain that I couldn’t always be bothered to keep asking people to repeat themselves. It’s easier to tune out, so that’s what you do.”
After further tests, Lamb was diagnosed with hearing loss in his right ear and mild loss in his left. Doctors explained that the star had suffered the same kind of hearing damage which occurs with ageing, except “more suddenly and profoundly,” leaving him dependent on a hearing aid.
Audiologist Colin Campbell, who treated Lamb at a local Specsavers explained that malarial infection can damage the hair cells in the inner ear – these send electrical signals to the cochlear nerve. And the degree of hearing loss relates to the number of hair cells damaged.