Keely Hodgkinson is already an established name in the track and field realm. She ranks among Britain’s most reliable athletes on the global stage. Back in Paris in 2024, she surged to Olympic gold in the women’s 800 meters. Hodgkinson now flaunts a couple of Olympic medals. Along with it, Hodgkinson also has multiple European accolades, and silver medals from the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. And that’s not all. She also holds the British record over 800 meters. A mark that made her the sixth fastest woman in history. Yet, behind her medal collection lies a deeply personal story that has long intrigued her supporters. Here are all the details about her hearing loss. 

What happened to Keely Hodgkinson’s hearing?

Hodgkinson’s health challenge began years before she became a household name. Around the age of 13, she underwent surgery to remove a tumor growing in her ear. While the tumor was not malignant, it was a condition that, if left untreated, could have had lasting consequences. “I had a mastoidectomy, which is from memory a type of tumour – but non-cancerous or anything, it wasn’t majorly life-threatening – that had been growing for 10 years,” Hodgkinson explained in a 2024 interview with Sky Sports. The procedure was necessary because of the tumor’s location. “It crushed through my hearing bones, and it was just touching my spine. So the risk for the operation was to take it out or keep it in. If you keep it in and let it grow, it can hit the spine and I could end up with facial palsy.”

For a teenager already drawn to athletics, the implications were serious. She recalled the reality of that period in simple terms. “Now that was quite scary for a 13-year-old girl to think that could happen, but the bones were already crushed anyway so they tried to save them but that turned out why I had a lot of hearing problems growing up,” Hodgkinson pointed out. Unfortunately, while the operation removed the tumor, she was left with about 95 percent hearing loss in her left ear.

How Did Keely Hodgkinson Recover After Surgery?

The aftermath of the mastoidectomy was not confined to hearing. Hodgkinson temporarily lost her ability to walk normally because of the procedure’s effect on her equilibrium and depth perception. “I couldn’t walk – which is weird to think – because it’s in your ear, your balance and things like that,” she admitted. For months, she relied on physiotherapy to rebuild her stability. Gradually, the Olympic gold medalist regained her movement. But sadly enough, the hearing loss remained permanent.

Did hearing loss affect Keely Hodgkinson’s athletics career?

The surgery in 2015 coincided with what could have been pivotal development years in her running career. She had to reduce her training workload while recovering, and her results in youth competitions dipped slightly during 2016. Yet, the bigger challenge was adapting to the permanent condition. With hearing loss in one ear, Hodgkinson faced obstacles in responding to the starter’s gun and environmental sounds during races. Balance, once disrupted, had to be rebuilt through repeated training sessions and rehabilitation – you need to learn to walk all over again.

Despite these issues, Hodgkinson learned to navigate the sport on her own terms. By her mid-teens, she was competing at the highest levels of junior athletics again, showing that her setback was temporary in every sense other than her hearing.

What has Keely Hodgkinson achieved since her surgery?

Hodgkinson’s competitive record since her surgery tells its own story. At 19, she broke through on the world stage during the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning the silver medal in the 800 meters. Her time of 1:55.88 broke Kelly Holmes’ British record that had stood since 1995. Hodgkinson returned in 2022 and claimed the European title in Munich. She also secured the silver medals at both the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. And to further elevate her status as an elite athlete, the Olympic gold medalist added another silver to her tally at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

With such a showing, Hodgkinson soon became a renowned name in the track realm. She captured two European indoor crowns, in 2021 and 2023, and also claimed the Diamond League 800 meters title in both 2021 and 2023. Alongside those victories, she set the world indoor best in the 600 meters.

The defining moment of her career arrived in Paris in 2024. Entering the Olympic final as a favorite, she controlled the race from the opening laps and accelerated decisively in the final 10. Keely Hodgkinson has already established herself as one of Britain’s most reliable athletes on the global stage.