Hollywood action hero Bruce Willis may have a reputation as something of a surly customer who doesn't have much to say in interviews, but his daughter suggests that this may not just be down to a disinterest in promoting his own movies - hearing loss could play a part.

Rumer Willis, whose mother is the actress Demi Moore, says that her father probably struggles to hear the questions properly, after suffering hearing damage filming an action film many years ago. "I think part of the problem is sometimes he can't hear ... because he shot a gun off next to his ear when he was doing Die Hard a long time ago, so he has partial hearing loss in his ears."

It's not just media interviewers who are not getting through to the vest-wearing, wise-cracking shoot-'em-up star, either: Rumer suggests that he has just as hard a time at home when the family is around.

"If me and my sisters get together and he's at a dinner table and we start talking about fashion and things, the poor guy," she added.

Hearing impairment is a significant barrier to communication, and if it goes undetected it can lead to strains in relationships and a great deal of anxiety, as well as feelings of isolation.