Waiting times for NHS hearing aids are unacceptably long in some areas, sometimes up to several months. This is not a new problem.

There were long waits before the introduction of digital hearing aids. This was a result of previous neglect and underfunding of NHS audiology services, and a longstanding shortage of qualified audiologists in the UK.

But the situation has been made worse by a surge in demand for the new digital hearing aids. In particular, many people who already have the old type of NHS hearing aid (who would not normally be re-assessed for a number of years) understandably want to be changed over quickly to the new models. They have joined the queue now and so waiting times have lengthened.

RNID and the Department of Health have been working together on several initiatives designed to help overcome this situation. These include a national Public Private Partnership agreement and a new telephone based follow-up service called Hearing Direct.

RNID members and supporters now need to keep up the pressure on their Primary Care Trusts to make sure the NHS in their area is committed to improving their hearing aid service further and bringing waiting times down.

Quality service is important

Whatever is done to tackle waiting times, it must not be at the expense of service quality. An important part of the modernised service is the time and care spent with each hearing aid user; making sure that your hearing aids are programmed exactly to suit you and that you know how to get the best from your hearing aid.

Cutting corners so that more people can be seen quickly would only lead to more people being unhappy with the result.