ROBERT REDFORD NEW FEARS

NationalEnquirer.com

FILM legend ROBERT REDFORD is at risk of go­ing deaf after suffering dramatic hearing loss while filming his latest movie, friends fear.

The beloved 76-year-old Oscar winner was repeatedly blasted with water on the set of the adventure thriller “All Is Lost” and battled a serious ear infection for weeks, revealed a source.

“Bob plays a man lost at sea in a treacherous storm in the movie, and he was constantly being hit with water from high-pressure hoses,” a source told The ENQUIRER.

“He was soaking wet for at least 20 days. His ears became blocked, and after filming he came down with a fever and terrible ear infection.

“It took him weeks to recover. In the end, doctors told him he’d lost 60 percent of the hearing in his left ear. The whole experience could have been avoided if Bob had used stunt doubles. But he’s a stickler for realism on film, and now the poor guy is paying the price.”

While Redford’s rep denies the star of “The Sting” is going deaf, the source says the actor remains traumatized over his hearing loss.

“Bob’s had some good results with hearing aids and he’s coping, but the incident definitely has left him shaken,” noted the source.

Dr. Babak Larian, a renowned ear, nose and throat surgeon from Beverly Hills, who has not treated the star,  told The ENQUIRER: “If the infection damaged the nerves in the inner ear, his hear­ing loss will not return, and if the infection continues, he may lose hearing altogether in that ear.”