Hugh Hefner, who died yesterday aged 91, was notorious for popping Viagra like Skittles in order to maintain his very active sex life.

The pills, which have been linked in studies to sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), apparently left him almost completely deaf, however, with former twin lovers Karissa and Kristina Shannon telling The Sun last year that he had hearing aids and was completely deaf in one ear.

"You have to lean down and talk into his good ear for him to understand you," Karissa said.

"We could sit right next to him and he wouldn’t have a clue what we said."

But it seems this didn't give Hefner pause or leave him with any regret, with Karissa adding: "He said he would rather have sex than have his hearing."

(Getty Images for Playboy)

Addressing a 2011 report on links between hearing loss and Viagra, the NHS writes: "SSHL is a rare, emergency condition caused by damage to the inner ear structures, which can lead to permanent hearing loss. The study found 47 cases of hearing loss associated with taking this class of drug. Two-thirds of these cases occurred within 24 hours of taking the drug."

Playboy Enterprises announced Wednesday that Hefner had died in the Playboy Mansion from natural causes.

Playboy Magazine was founded by Hefner more than 60 years ago as an upscale men's magazine, combining images of nude women with in-depth articles, literature and interviews.

"Hugh M. Hefner, the American icon who in 1953 introduced the world to Playboy magazine and built the company into one of the most recognisable American global brands in history, peacefully passed away today from natural causes at his home, The Playboy Mansion, surrounded by loved ones," Playboy confirmed in a statement. "He was 91 years old."

Most famous Playboy covers Show all 10 1 /10 Most famous Playboy covers Most famous Playboy covers December 1953 The very first Playboy magazine front cover with Marilyn Monroe Most famous Playboy covers July 1958 The bright yellow Playboy cover in summer of 1958 featured popular nude model Agnes Laurent Most famous Playboy covers August 1962 The shot of a woman posing on a beach in a bikini celebrated the first ever cover featuring bikini swimsuit Most famous Playboy covers May 1964 This cover featured Playmate of the year Donna Michelle who used her legs to recreate Playboy's famous rabbit logo Most famous Playboy covers August 1968 The cover of August 1968 edition featured Playmate Gale Olson with the famous Bunny logo covering her body Most famous Playboy covers October 1971 Darine Stern was the first black Playmate to feature on the cover of the magazine Most famous Playboy covers January 1985 The New Year cover in 1985 featured Goldie Hawn who was promoting her latest film Protocol Most famous Playboy covers July 1990 Sharon Stone was featured in the issue to promote her starring role in the upcoming movie Total Recall Most famous Playboy covers December 2007 Kim Kardashian appeared on the cover of the issue to promote the first season of the E! reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians Most famous Playboy covers January 2014 The eagerly anticipated shot with Kate Moss in the famous bunny outfit celebrated the magazine's 60th anniversary

Hugh Marston Hefner was born on 9 April , 1926, to strict Methodist parents. The eldest of two brothers, he served two years in the Army during World War II before finding a job at Esquire as a copywriter.

By 1953 he had saved $8,000 - enough to put the first issue of Playboy together. It hit newsstands in December that year and included an old nude photo of Marilyn Monroe, which Hefner had purchased to add some "oomph" to the centrefold. The issue sold more than 50,000 copies.