Losing 85% of His Hearing at Age 4, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Bodybuilding Rival From Pumping Iron Can Finally Relax at the Airport After 5 Decades

The 1977 movie Pumping Iron portrays Lou Ferrigno as Arnold’s biggest challenger during the 1975 Mr. Olympia. In fact, the 6’4 ft giant bodybuilder was one of the major rivals for the Austrian Oak after Sergio Oliva. Both in 1974 and 1975, Ferrigno gave Arnold Schwarzenegger a run for his money. While the movie touched on Ferrigno’s personal life and passion for bodybuilding, it didn’t reveal a crucial fact about the first man to play Incredible Hulk. When he was four, Lou Ferrigno lost “85 percent of my hearing because of nerve damage.”

In an interview with Inside Edition, the 71-year-old revealed he struggled with his hearing disability for all his life. However, in 2021, the bodybuilding veteran’s life changed, when he underwent cochlear implant surgery. Now, two years later, while waiting at a noisy airport, Ferrigno was still amazed at how many details he couldn’t hear for decades of his life.

No more anxiety 

Earlier, the former Mr. Olympia runner-up uploaded a video on his official Instagram while waiting to catch a flight. “Hi! Big Lou here at the airport, heading to Calgary (Canada),” said The Incredible Hulk actor. “It’s such a pleasure, with the cochlear, to understand all the words, especially on the intercom talking about the flights at the time, and the reschedule,” continued Ferrigno.

In the 2021 interview with Inside Edition, Ferrigno revealed he had worn primitive hearing aids for most of his life. While they “increased the volume,” everything sounded muddy to the 71-year-old. However, Arnie’s old rival can now “hear all these different sounds of people talking, especially kids behind me… it’s such a joy to not hear garbled sounds, mixed up.”

The bodybuilding legend described his hearing after getting the cochlear implants as natural. In his caption, Ferrigno mentioned, “Now, after 5 decades of flying, I have the chance to sit back and listen to flight updates on the intercom without fearing I am missing my flight.” However, this isn’t the first time something unremarkable has sounded so remarkable to Ferrigno.

A completely new experience 

Lou Ferringo, who beat Arnold Schwarzenegger to the opportunity to star as The Incredible Hulk, uploaded another video on his Instagram on March 10. In the video, Ferrigno revealed he couldn’t even listen to the car radio while driving. Since his hearing was compromised, the former Mr. Universe couldn’t risk his safety on the road.

READ MORE | “My Whole Life It’s Been Frustrating to Hear”: Lou Ferrigno Initially Discarded the Idea of Hearing Implant in 2021

However, after the cochlear implant, everything changed. “I can understand everything and it’s fantastic because I could drive right now and listen to the radio,” said Ferrigno. Listening to the radio while might be an everyday thing for most people. However, for Ferrigno, it was a completely new experience.