Opera star IAN STOREY was relieved to discover he was suffering the symptoms of male menopause – because he was convinced he had a brain tumour.

The tenor visited specialists after feeling tired and developing pneumonia in 2009, and he underwent numerous scans to determine the cause of his exhaustion.

Tests revealed his testosterone levels had dropped and Storey was convinced he had a tumour on his brain, until a medic finally diagnosed him with andropause, or male menopause.

The singer has credited hormone patches with helping him feel “normal” again, and now he’s speaking out to dispel the belief that male menopause is a myth.

he tells Britain’s Independent newspaper, “To be honest, I’d never even heard of it, aside from catching the odd joke about it a couple of times.

“They asked if my libido had lowered; I had just put that down to being tired… a lot of people experience the symptoms, but just put it down to the stress of their job or to the fact that they’re just tired or not sleeping well… The problem is that there are still doctors out there who say male menopause doesn’t exist. But I think I’ve proved it does.

“Since I began to talk about it, I’ve heard of so many similar cases… I’ve had more than 40 emails from people I’ve never met. some ask questions, others write to say thank you. They were feeling the same – or similar – and went to the doctor. Now the quality of their lives have improved as a result.”