David Eigenberg, who plays firefighter Christopher Herrmann on NBC’s hit drama Chicago Fire, revealed that his character will be wearing hearing aids in the episodes moving forward — just like he does in real life.

The actor, 59, has struggled with hearing loss for decades and decided to incorporate his personal experience into his role after consulting with the show’s creators and producers.

“I need them in real life, so it was written in the show because I’ve gotten to the point where I need them,” Eigenberg told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on Thursday, February 1. “I’ve been needing them for years. I’ve been wearing them, but then this year, I sent an email to the writers and I was like, ‘You know, I’m kind of at a point where really, I just can’t hear very well. I’ve abused my body and I’ve had enough concussions and done enough things in my life where my hearing is shot.’ And they were kind enough to incorporate it, and I think it’s a wonderful thing in a lot of ways. Because a lot of people are using them now. It’s a very normal thing.”

Coping with his hearing loss hasn’t always been easy. “You know, it has gotten me down sometimes, I don’t love it,” he added. “But they’re a great instrument to help in life, because what happens is that if you don’t have them and you can’t hear, you kind of disengage. It takes you out of the loop. And wearing them brings you back into participation. So, I’m really glad that we’re using it.”

He continued: “It’s a vulnerability because you never know when your hearing starts to deteriorate, what the arc of that will be. Although they have one-eyed firefighters in Chicago, and they have firefighters with hearing loss and hearing aids, at a certain point, if you can’t keep yourself safe and other people safe, you can’t do the job.”