Audiology appointments

Before your appointment 

Ear wax 

To have a hearing assessment your ears must be clear of wax. 

When you saw your GP for a referral to us, they should have checked your ears for wax. If that didn’t happen, please see the nurse at your GP surgery or seek other means to check your ears are clear of wax before you come to your appointment with us. 

If you need to manage your wax, please take a look at the ear wax section on the NHS website. There are also local providers who can remove ear wax for a charge. Some can visit you at home if required. 

Things to think about before we see you

Please bring any old hearing aids with you to your appointment, even if you’re not currently using them.

At your appointment we’ll ask you some questions. Please think about these three questions beforehand, so you have your answers ready on the day: 

• what difficulties do you have hearing in everyday situations? 

• how do you feel about wearing hearing aids? 

• when do you feel it is most important that you can hear clearly? 

At your appointment 

Your appointment may last up to an hour and you'll see a highly-trained specialist called an audiologist. 

The audiologist will ask you about your hearing, explain how the tests will work and answer your questions. You’ll be asked to give verbal consent to the hearing tests and this will be recorded in your notes. 

The audiologist will look in your ears using an otoscope. They’ll also ask you to put on headphones and listen to sounds at different pitches and volumes. You’ll be asked to press a button each time you hear a sound. 

After the test the audiologist will discuss the results with you straightaway. It may be that we agree to try hearing aids. If so, we'll talk the options and next steps through with you. There are different styles of hearing aids to suit different hearing loss. We might need to take a mould of your ear to make sure we get the right size fitting for you.

Where to come for your appointment 

Your appointment letter will explain where you need to come for your appointment.

• In the east of Dorset our main base is at 11 Shelley Road, Boscombe, Dorset, BH1 4JQ. We are on the first floor but there is a lift available. Parking on-site is free for patients but it is very limited. There is on-street parking (for limited periods)

• In the west of Dorset our main base is at Park Centre, Weymouth Community Hospital, Melcombe Avenue, Weymouth, DT4 7TB. We are on the ground floor. There is a pay and display car park on the hospital site

• We also hold clinics at other sites across Dorset.

During your hearing aid fitting appointment 

The hearing aid fitting will normally last up to 45 minutes. 

At this appointment the audiologist will use a computer to programme your hearing aids so that they suit you and give you the best results. The audiologist will also use equipment to check that when your hearing aid is inserted, it produces the right sound levels in your ear.  

You’ll be shown how to use and care for your hearing aids and how to get the best from them. 

During your hearing aid fitting appointment, we’ll also give you written information about: 

• how your hearing aids work 

• follow-up, maintenance, repair and ongoing support services 

• an identification card so that you can get batteries 

• where you can get NHS batteries near where you live 

• information about other services and equipment that may help you, including how to maintain and use your hearing aid at home. 

After your hearing aid fitting appointment 

After your hearing aid fitting you will remain under our care.

Hearing aids can often take a bit of time to adjust to, as you learn how to hear better with them. This is normal and your brain does a great job adapting to hearing what it needs, while filtering out sounds it doesn’t want.

Hearing aids have clever systems in them to help people hear clearly and comfortably. Acclimatising to hearing aids can take a little time (weeks to even a couple of months) and gets better when you use the hearing aid consistently.

Hearing aids cannot give back perfect hearing, but they should give you a better awareness of sounds around you and help you hear conversation, which is so important for communication.

Getting used to your hearing aids

You may want to gradually build up the use of your hearing aids, starting in quieter places like the lounge watching television to start with.

Or you may prefer to wear the hearing aids consistently from the start to help you get used to them quickly.

Both approaches are fine. The main thing is you get to a stage where they are useful to you.

If you have tried to get used to them but still are having difficulties, please let us know and we can book an appropriate appointment to help.

If you have any questions please contact the audiology department on 0300 303 8640 or email us at: 

• dhc.audiologyenquiries@nhs.net if you live or attend a clinic in Christchurch, Bournemouth, Poole, Wimborne, Wareham or Swanage

• dhc.audiologyenquirieswest@nhs.net if you live or attend a clinic in Dorchester, Blandford, Bridport, Weymouth or Sherborne. 

If you would like more information about equipment and systems that can help you with problems not solved by hearing aid amplification, you may find the RNID - National hearing loss charity and C2 hear online websites helpful.

Hearing aid maintenance

We have a repairs and aftercare service that can help you with general issues, plus adjustments for comfort and maintenance (i.e. changing the tubes if you can't manage this alone).