Your Local Hearing Specialists

Hearing impairment affects many people at different stages of their lives. 55% of people over 60 years of age have some degree of hearing loss, rising to over 70% of people by the time they reach 70 and 93% of people 81 years and older. This shows that if your hearing is deteriorating it isn’t unusual at all. Hearing loss can affect your quality of life and it’s never too late to do something about it, so if you have any concerns book an appointment for a free hearing test and talk to one of our qualified hearing aid audiologists who will be happy to help.

Most hearing loss is caused by the ageing process, however regular exposure to loud noises, heredity, and some illnesses can also cause hearing loss. Around 90% of all cases of hearing loss are because the microscopic hair cells in the cochlea (or inner ear) become damaged which limits their ability to detect soft, higher frequency sounds and means that they cannot send a complete signal to the brain. As a result, it becomes difficult to understand the consonants that allow us to understand speech. Also see How our hearing works and Types and causes of hearing loss.

The first sign of hearing loss is a difficulty in hearing certain sounds or tones clearly. For example, you may be unable to distinguish similar sounding words or hear higher pitched voices, such as those of children. Other signs include difficulty with cross-conversations, hearing at a distance such as in meetings, listening to the TV or radio, or hearing in large buildings where there may be echoes such as in churches or auditoriums. Also see Take our online hearing questionnaire and causes of hearing loss.

There may be many reasons for difficulty in discriminating speech from background noise and this is usually an indication of Sensorineural hearing loss. A hearing assessment will reveal the cause of this problem and properly prescribed and fitted hearing aids will normally provide significant improvement. Also see Types and causes of hearing loss.

It is generally accepted that a loss of hearing in old age is quite common. our hearing worsens with age. Not only have older people’s auditory system been exposed to noise for many years but also, as we age, all our facilities deteriorate, including our hearing. A free hearing test will quickly establish if you do have a hearing loss an age related hearing loss and our hearing aid audiologist will then be able to recommend suitable aids to improve your hearing. Regular hearing tests and Aftercare will ensure that any deterioration in your hearing is picked up quickly so that your hearing aids always provide you with the best possible hearing improvement.
Also see Take our online hearing questionnaire.