According to research by Action on Hearing Loss, around 40% of NHS audiology services are facing cuts in funding.
There are also indications that waiting times are getting longer and there is less follow-up care. Most worryingly of all, in some cases, patients are only being given one hearing aid.
The BBC reports:
Using the Freedom of Information Act, Action on Hearing Loss asked all 135 hospitals with audiology units whether they were having to scale back services.
In total 128 replied, with 43% reporting some kind of cut.
The most common problems were rises in waiting times, reductions in follow-up appointments – considered vital to helping people adapt to their hearing aids – and a lack of specialist staff to deal with complex cases.
But the report also found evidence of trusts starting to provide only one hearing aid when two had been judged to be clinically necessary.
The seven health boards in Wales were also asked about cuts, but only two responded, with one saying waiting times were increasing.
Read the full BBC report here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20034646
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Tina
October 24, 2012
I don’t understand this. it’s a joke. It’s like giving an amputee one leg and telling them ‘off you go’.
barakta
October 24, 2012
Many people struggle to come to terms with a hearing aid – especially older people – and it DOES take a lot of patience to re-explain how they work, assist someone in acclimatising to a change in hearing both from their original hearie state and their deafened state and deal with the emotional implications as well.
I lost track of the number of times me as a deaf kid with hearing aids would meet someone in their 50s or above who kept their hearing aid in a drawer with genuine reasons audiology could fix “the earmould hurts” “I kept going back and always felt like I was wasting their time – then my ears got too raw to wear them at all” etc etc.
People need to be able to go back for earmould adjustments, support to relearn the hearing aids, understanding of their new hearing situation. Increased demand with more cuts will make this harder and people will feel unable to and unwelcome.
Audiology is something which will have more demand not less as we have an aging society! Short sighted to say the least!