Most of our members have hearing loss - they used to have normal hearing, and over the years, for one reason or another, they have lost that facility. Unfortunately, hearing loss is part of the ageing process; research indicates that over 70% of people aged over 70 will have some kind of hearing loss. What to do First, visit your GP to be referred for a hearing test. If you live in the area covered by the club, you will probably be referred to the audiology clinic at Lymington Hospital, where an audiologist will test your hearing and discuss with you what options are available to you to improve your hearing loss. You may be prescribed a hearing aid. Most NHS aids are now digital and quite discreet. You will see many advertisements, both on TV and in the papers, for hearing tests and aids provided by private clinics and opticians. Although it may be tempting to use these to avoid a wait on the NHS, these aids are often very expensive (£3000 per aid is not unusual) and do not necessarily offer advantages over NHS hearing aids, which are provided without charge. For further information on hearing aids, please see the RNID website (see Related links). You may also find it helpful to learn lip reading, particularly if you are in the early stages of hearing loss. Hampshire Adult Services (see Related links) can give you information about these. They can also register you as hard of hearing, which will entitle you to some benefits and concessions, and assess your home for any equipment you may need. Most importantly, don't feel isolated. There is lots of help out there; don't be reluctant to ask for it. If you can, join a club to get advice from people who are in the same situation. |