Your views
Your feedback is vital to us as we continue to increase the quality of our services.
You are here:
Date: 21 May 2012
Time: 17:14
Hearing aids
HARC was one of the first wave services in the country to introduce digital hearing aids and modernised practices to the NHS. Digital hearing aids are now fitted routinely using computer-based fitting methods. They provide better quality hearing and greater use than traditional NHS aids, when combined with modernised practices that allow more contact time with patients and individualised treatment plans.
Questionnaires are used to assess results, including benefits of the aids, satisfaction with the aids, and reduction in hearing disability. This enables us to monitor the quality of the service we provide and tailor the rehabilitation provided to each individual. We have a long-term commitment to supporting and maintaining hearing aid use, including home visiting if required.
We are currently using a range of hearing aids from different manufacturers including the Siemens Prisma 2M and the Phonak Supero. They are all high quality digital aids and, where suitable, we encourage the use of aids in both ears. We only fit behind-the-ear hearing aids. (Please note that in-the-ear hearing aids are not routinely available.)
Patients over 60 years of age, who are registered with a GP in Birmingham, can be referred directly by their doctor for hearing aid assessment. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to see routine patients from outside the Birmingham area.
We have a walk-in repair service for existing patients which operates between 10:00 and 12:00, Monday to Friday. Appointments are available at other times if these are inconvenient.
Bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHA)
The BAHA programme based at HARC is one of the largest in the world and pioneered the development of BAHA services in the UK . The BAHA is a surgically-implantable hearing aid system for treatment of hearing loss that works through direct bone conduction. It was introduced in the UK in 1988 to treat conductive and mixed hearing losses. Since 2003 it has also been used to treat unilateral sensorineural ("nerve") hearing loss.
The BAHA can help people with chronic ear infections, malformed ear canals, otosclerosis and single-sided sensori-neural deafness, who cannot benefit from conventional hearing aids. The system allows sound to be conducted directly through the bone, bypassing the outer ear. A small, cosmetically designed hearing aid "clicks" on to a titanium fixture at the side of the head to transmit sound through the bone to the cochlea (inner ear).
The system requires a small operation to implant the titanium fixture. The hearing aid can then be fitted three months later, once the fixture has integrated with the bone.
Getting here
Information about travelling to, staying at and getting around the hospital.
Jobs at UHB
See why our hospitals are great places to work.
