WWE’s Michael Cole Living With 65 Percent Hearing Loss

WWE lead announcer Michael Cole has revealed that he is dealing with '65 percent' hearing loss.

Cole confirmed the news during an appearance on the Pat McAfee show, where Mcafee - Cole’s broadcast partner on WWE SmackDown - made reference to Cole’s hearing after a commercial break:

"Mike Cole's deaf, so he can't hear a f****** thing we say," said McAfee to co-host AJ Hawk.

"I've said three words to him in the three commercial breaks. That is true, I'm actually, like, 65 percent hearing loss,” confirmed Cole.

Cole has been with WWE for nearly 25 years, and was named Vice President of Announcing in 2020, and as to how he continues with his job despite his hearing issues, Cole revealed how he keeps going:

"They make these special in-ear pieces that go underneath my headsets on-air so I can actually hear," Cole said, before McAfee praised Cole for his dedication to WWE "I'm like, man, I appreciate your commitment to the entertainment, because that's 100 percent because of you having a headset on for 25 years," McAfee said.

Before joining WWE, Cole was a political journalist and war reporter, with Cole making reference to bomb blasts in Bosnia or gunshots during the Waco Texas siege likely being contributing factors to his hearing loss.