Former England rugby winger Ben Cohen has revealed that singer Elton John once convinced him to get a hearing aid.

The 34-year-old was told by doctors ahead of his retirement that he was losing his hearing, but the former Sale Sharks player refused to wear a hearing aid due to its ineffectiveness.

It wasn't until he received a phone call from the English singer, who got in touch due to Cohen's work with The Stand Up Foundation, that made him sort out his hearing difficulties.

"He called me, out of the blue, and introduced himself," Cohen told the Daily Mail.

"He said, 'I hear you're deaf. I love the work you're doing and I'd love to help you. When you're next in America, I'm going to send you over to [hearing aid manufacturer] Starkey and fit you out with new state-of-the-art hearing aids. While you're there you might as well see the head guy, the owner.' It was an amazing day."

Cohen created The Stand Up Foundation to help those suffering from bullying, especially homophobia.