Parliamentary event puts audiology in the spotlight

A parliamentary event held on Tuesday 5 November highlighted the effects of hearing loss on society and the economy, calling on the Government to make NHS hearing care more widely available.

MP Yasmin Qureshi, alongside Specsavers and Dr Zoe Williams, a GP and TV doctor, hosted the reception, It’s Time to Talk About Hearing.

Specsavers formally launched its 2024 hearing health report during the event, urging action to “tackle the postcode lottery that prevents people from easily accessing hearing care services.”

In some areas, NHS audiology services, such as hearing devices, aftercare and wax removal, are available for free on the local High Street, while for others hearing care services can only be accessed through GP referral to a hospital or by paying for their care.

Specsavers is calling on the Government to ensure all areas have access to NHS audiology services in the community and to implement NHS England self-referral guidance consistently to allow those who need NHS hearing care to see an audiologist on the High Street without needing to see their GP first. This would free up 500,000 GP appointments a year, the company suggested.

A survey conducted by Specsavers of 2000 working adults in the UK found that though 35% of employees admit to experiencing hearing difficulties at work, almost 64% haven’t had a hearing check.

The research found that 26% did not believe a hearing check was necessary, while 25% thought their hearing difficulties were not severe enough to warrant a check.

Despite this, the research reported that hearing loss significantly affected many respondents in the workplace, such as regularly asking colleagues to repeat themselves (37%), making mistakes due to hearing difficulties (22%), and impacting their ability to perform their job properly (15%).

Almost one in five admitted they considered leaving or changing their job due to hearing issues.

Separate research from charity Action on Hearing Loss (now the Royal National Institute for Deaf People) has found that 40% of those who had retired early gave hearing loss as a factor.

There are more than 120,000 people on NHS waiting lists, with an average wait time of 18 weeks for hospital-based hearing services, the report highlighted.

Carina Hummel, managing director for audiology at Specsavers, said: “As experts in eye and hearing care, Specsavers is ready and able to support the NHS to do this. Our hearing experts, with their clinical skills and accessible locations, are perfectly placed to deliver these services, easing the load on the NHS.”

Hummel suggested this move would help to “improve patient outcomes, and support access for patients.”

Specsavers highlighted that the knock-on effects of hearing loss across the UK economy results in a value of £25 billion in lost productivity and unemployment each year.

Qureshi, who has hearing loss herself, commented: “I know through my own first-hand experience that the impact of unaddressed hearing loss is profound.

“It impacts employment, complicates communication and social interactions, often leading to social isolation and loneliness. It is vital that we address the postcode lottery that prevents some people from easily accessing hearing care,” she said.

Speaking to OT at the event, Giles Edmonds, optometrist and clinical services director for Specsavers, highlighted the synergies between optometry and audiology. Discussing access to audiology he shared: “It’s about having the right clinical capacity in the community, in the right location.”

Optometry practices on the High Street are easily accessible, with short wait times, the right level of equipment, and staff who are already trained in eye health, he noted.

“People with age-related hearing loss aren’t ill and ultimately, they don’t really need to go to hospital. So why can’t we do with primary care audiology what we’re doing with primary care optometry?” Edmonds said.

Noting the differences in commissioning of primary care audiology across England compared to Wales and Scotland, he suggested: “We should be uniting together as a sector behind changing government policy. There is no better time to do get audiology on the agenda.”