Your appointment

Before your appointment

Please make sure that your ears are clear of wax when you attend your appointment, as wax may prevent us from performing any clinical examinations.

Earwax build-up - NHS website

If you wear hearing aids, please bring them with you to your appointment. If you wear glasses, please bring these with you to your appointment.

You are welcome to bring a carer, family member or friend with you to your appointment.

Language interpreters are available (including British Sign Language) - please contact us in advance.

At your appointment

Your appointment will involve a detailed discussion of your symptoms and difficulties, and relevant medical history.

We will explore how your symptoms affect situations and relationships important for you, for example your home life, work and leisure activities.

We will examine your ears with an otoscope.

Assessments

We will test your hearing and ear function: we may ask you to listen to sounds using headphones or small insert phones (Pure Tone Audiometry), and assess your middle ear.

Our tests are not invasive, and most people can complete them with no concerns. Hearing tests do require mental concentration, and rest time can be included during the session.

We have special equipment and expertise to help patients with learning difficulties, dementia or other physical or cognitive impairments receive the assessment and treatment they need.

If you have any questions about our appointments or tests please contact us.

If clinically indicated, further tests may be needed - your Audiologist will discuss these with you.

Please see 'What happens during a hearing test?' on this web page:

Hearing tests - NHS website

Next steps

Once your hearing assessment is complete, your Audiologist will explain the results and work with you to determine a management plan, and further referral if indicated.

Hearing aids

We may offer you one or two hearing aids, depending on what is appropriate for you.

Hearing aids and implants - NHS website

We may need to take impressions of your ear/s to make earmoulds - we will explain the process and what to expect.

If you accept the offer of a hearing aid, we will arrange an appointment for fitting. This will take about one hour, and will involve some measurements to fit your hearing aid according to your prescription (based on your hearing test).

Your Audiologist will explain how to use and look after your hearing aid/s.

Follow-up and repair

At the end of your fitting, your Audiologist will offer a follow-up appointment in about six weeks, to see if any adjustments are needed - this may be face to face or by telephone.

You may have a full hearing re-assessment every three years. We do not book this automatically, so please contact us to arrange it.

Hearing aid maintenance / repair

You can perform maintenance and simple repairs yourself, using information provided during your appointments and in our Resources section:

Hearing aid care - c2hearonline.com

If you still need help with maintenance or repairs, please request an appointment or use our postal service - please visit:

Hearing aid repair

Lost hearing aids

If you find that your hearing aids are not very helpful, please contact us before you stop using them.

Hearing aids provided by us remain the property of the NHS, and must be returned if not used. They must not be given away or sold.

There is a charge of £110 per device to replace any hearing aids lost, although discretion may be used in the case of incidents that have occurred outside of your control.

Medical complications

If you experience a sudden hearing loss in one or both ears, deterioration in your hearing over a few days or weeks, or experience hearing loss associated with earache or discharge coming out of the ear, please contact your GP for an urgent appointment or contact NHS 111 - 111.nhs.uk.