Frequently Asked Questions

With many years of experience in helping patients with hearing loss at House of Hearing we have prepared answers to some of the more commonly asked questions. If you can’t find the answer you are looking for here, then please give us a call or send your question via our contact page.

General

Most people’s hearing will deteriorate gradually over time and sometimes it is other people who will notice first. Classic symptoms include turning the TV up louder and difficulty following conversations in noisy or busy situations.

The important decision is having your hearing tested for the first time. When you are a patient at House of Hearing we will happily arrange a hearing test every year or every second year if you would prefer.

That is difficult to answer on an individual basis, but it is safe to say that our hearing is at its best when we are younger and then it will only deteriorate. This is different for everyone and depends on many factors like whether someone has been exposed to a lot of noise. If you are in any doubt, please arrange a free hearing test at House of Hearing or as a first step, why not take our online hearing test.

Your GP may choose to refer you to an Audiologist at the hospital, depending on availability and access.

If you choose to have hearing aids from the NHS you will not have access to the range of technological or cosmetic options that will be available to you by accessing a private Audiology service.

Your GP will be able to advise you of the local waiting times to access NHS Audiology.

Our hearing health assessments at House of Hearing are free of charge and without any obligation.

If our Audiologists believe they can help, and if you would like help with your hearing, they will show you everything that would be suitable for you, from the smallest to the largest and from the least to the most in terms of cost.

That way you and your loved ones can make a decision that is right for you and for your chosen budget.

As a guide hearing aids can cost from £495.00 to £2,200.00

All of our hearing aid prices are inclusive of our Complete Care lifetime programme.

  

All of the hearing aids that we prescribe at House of Hearing are programmable via the manufacturer’s latest software. All of House of Hearing’s clinics are equipped to do this quickly and easily. If a new hearing test is required to make sure that the settings are up to date, we will do that too.

There are specialist insurance packages to cover hearing aids against loss or accidental damage and many household contents insurance policies will cover. Just be sure to check that they don’t need to be a named item.

Hearing aids can never be truly waterproof but many of them are splash proof to protect them against accidental exposure to liquids and sweat. Your audiologist will be able to advise on how to manage your hearing aids around moisture.

If your ear canal is blocked by impacted ear wax it will cause a small hearing loss. At House of Hearing we remove any ear wax blockage and then test your hearing to make sure that was the only factor affecting your hearing. If you are using a hearing aid, excessive ear wax can affect the performance of that hearing aid by blocking or bouncing the amplification back out.

All House of Hearing Audiologists are registered and regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

All of our Audiologists are also members of the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists (BSHAA).

It is crucial that you and your loved ones only ever have your hearing health assessed by a fully qualified regulated profesional who will help you to decide on the best solution for your hearing.

Any health care provider who has opted to seek registration with HIS takes the delivery of their service very seriously. HIS have rigorous standards in place to ensure that patients receive the best possible care in the most appropriate environment.

If you would like to give us any feedback on our services or make a complaint, please fill out the Contact Us form here or send an email to enquiries@houseofhearing.co.uk and a member of our team will get back to you.

Wax Removal

Ear wax is good for your ears and helps to keep the ear canal healthy. Sometimes people over produce ear wax or manage it badly (e.g. pushing it in with cotton buds) and it will block their ears. As you can imagine, this is uncomfortable and can temporarily affect your hearing.

When ear wax blocks your ear canal, it can be uncomfortable and affect your ability to hear well. If left in there for too long, it will only become more difficult to remove and may even be somewhere for infection to hide.

The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) have advised against ear syringing as this is now seen as outdated practice. Many GPs or Health Centres have stopped offering any sort of ear wax removal service and if that is the case for you, then we are happy to help if we can.

They might, but the problem you will have is that you can’t see inside your own ears. If you are in any doubt, one of our team will happily examine your ears.

The service is popular, so an appointment is advisable. When you visit one of our clinics without an appointment, we will of course do what we can to help you straight away.

Microsuction is popular with our patients and practitioners because, as the name suggests, the process removes ear wax safely via suction. The ‘Micro’ part actually comes from the need to use appropriate eyewear when performing the treatment, rather than the small size of the equipment

Some patients will recognise this as the updated process of ear syringing, but this is safer. Instead of using a syringe, our team use a gently powered flow of warm water to wash out any unwanted ear wax. This method is recommended where microsuction may not do the job. A combination of both is also possible.

All our nurse specialists are registered with the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC).

The NMC safeguards your health and wellbeing, by setting standards of education, training, conduct and performance for nurses, and ensuring those registered meet those standards.

For more information or to chat to a member of our team, please call 0131 220 1220

Our Clinics

All House of Hearing clinics are in town centre locations and accessible to public transport and parking. Home visits also available if mobility is an issue.