Healthy living
Body matters
Digital hearing aids on the NHS
In 2004 the NHS began transforming its audiology service with a £125m grant that promised to provide digital hearing aids for everyone who needs them. So how far has the service got? We answer your key questions
How do I get an appointment for a digital aid?
If you've not had an NHS hearing aid before, your GP should refer you to the audiology or Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) department of a local hospital for an assessment. Local authorities are trying to work out the fairest way of allocating appointments.
Some, like Barnsley, decided to fit new patients first, with existing patients like Kenneth - featured in our NHS digital hearing aids: case study - only benefiting from the new service when their regular appointments came up.
Kenneth hit the local headlines when he complained that the system "discriminated against existing users". He'd campaigned for digital aids to be available on the NHS and now found he had to wait while people needing hearing aids for the first time got theirs before him.
How long will it take for me to get a digital aid?Unfortunately, there are long waiting lists in many areas. They were long even before the modernisation programme, which was not designed to tackle waiting times.
The wait is due to a combination of factors, including increased demand from both people who need a hearing aid for the first time and those wanting to upgrade to this new technology. Patients are now receiving a better quality service than they used to - but many of them have to wait a very long time to get it.
The Department of Health admits that a quarter of a million people are waiting to be assessed for hearing aids but that's only people waiting to have their hearing tested. There are also many thousands of people, already assessed, who are now waiting for their hearing aids to be fitted.
Waiting times vary greatly around the country but, according to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID), some patients are having to wait up to two years, which they say is completely unacceptable. The RNID fears that waiting times are likely to increase further, following the Government's recent decision to exclude audiology from the 18-week waiting time target for treatment.
Can I speed up the process of getting a digital aid?
Not unless you want to buy your hearing aids from a private dispenser, bearing in mind they can be very expensive. If you're thinking of buying privately, the factsheet Buying a hearing aid? is available from <a href="http://www.rnid.org.uk" target="_blank" title="RNID">www.rnid.org.uk</a> , or call RNID's information line on tel 0808 808 0123.
What else can I do to get a digital aid?If you find you're facing a long wait, contact your local Patients Forum. Write to your MP, who should already be briefed by the RNID on the waiting times crisis. In your letter, make it clear exactly how the delay is affecting your daily life. And you could also point out that hearing aids are one of the NHS' most cost-effective treatments - making a huge difference to people's lives for a small cost per patient.
If you're experiencing hearing difficulties and haven't done anything about it yet, don't delay. If you think you might have some level of hearing loss, call RNID's five-minute telephone hearing check on tel 0845 600 5555 (local rates apply).
Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.