NHS hearing aids ‘available to everyone’ in UK after North Staffordshire drops controversial restrictions

Free NHS hearing aids are now available to anyone in the UK who needs them, after Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent’s Integrated Care Board (ICB) dropped its policy to not offer the technology to those with mild and moderate hearing loss.

The decision from North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group has faced continued opposition from the Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID) since it was introduced in 2015, and it was partially revoked last year when those with moderate hearing loss were no longer effected by the restrictions.

However, in an announcement made on Friday, the public body revealed it had agreed to lift the remaining block stopping patients with mild hearing loss from receiving hearing aids.

The move, confirmed at an ICB meeting on Thursday, meanings hearing aids in Staffordshire will be commissioned “with no eligibility criteria”.

In a statement celebrating the “moments change in policy”, RNID said they were “absolutely thrilled” by the decision.

Crystal Rolfe, associate director for health at the charity, said: “Research shows that for people with mild hearing loss, hearing aids improve communication, relationships, self-confidence, social participation and overall health, and reduce the risk of depression and anxiety.

“There is also a growing body of evidence to show that hearing aids may reduce the risk of dementia for people with hearing loss.

“Hearing aids are a cost-effective solution for the NHS, so the previous decision to restrict access to them was unjustifiable and against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.”

Ms Rolfe added the news “removes the postcode lottery for hearing aids” and makes the devices “freely available for all who need them”.

Photo: Matthijs/Flickr.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.