Are you living with unidentified hearing loss?
WORLD Hearing Day is held on 3 March each year to raise awareness of how to prevent hearing loss and promote ear and hearing care across the world.
Many people live with unidentified hearing loss. They often fail to realise they are missing out on certain sounds and words. Therefore, checking your hearing is the first step towards addressing the issue.
All people should check their hearing from time to time, especially those who are at a higher risk of hearing loss such as adults above 50 years, those working in noisy places, those listening to music at high volumes for long periods of time and those experiencing ear problems.
If you suspect you may have a hearing problem, there is no need to wait for a GP appointment or referral to an audiologist – Amplifon is a global hearing health specialist that offers free no-obligation tests at more than 200 hearing centres nationwide.
At present, one in 10 people are unable to get a GP appointment, or must wait a week or more to get one. And even if you do manage to see a doctor, the Action on Hearing Loss charity warns that 45 per cent of patients who report a problem with their hearing are not referred for a test or hearing aids.
Chris Childe, hearing-aid audiologist and Amplifon Training Manager, explains: “If you have normal hearing, fabulous, that’s great, but if you have a hearing loss we provide free of charge trials of hearing aids. We pride ourselves on our customer service and clinical excellence, so we want you to walk away happy and comfortable.
“Our customers tell us they really value having a friendly, bespoke and high-quality aftercare service that is tailored to their individual needs,”he says.
“I really enjoy the first follow-up visit when someone has been wearing their hearing aids for a week or so. It’s lovely for us to find out what a huge difference having the hearing aids has made.” At its 200 centres across the UK, Amplifon offers free hearing tests as well as free trials of appropriate hearing aids.