If members of your community have noticed changes with their hearing, without symptoms such as pain, prolonged tinnitus (ringing in the ears that lasts longer than five minutes) or vertigo (a spinning sensation), they can now fill out an online form to arrange an appointment with the Community Adult Hearing Service, instead of having to go through their GP.
Some people with more serious hearing issues may still need to go through their GP, to ensure there isn’t another underlying issue. However, many will be able to avoid a GP visit. Please share this within your communities to let them know about this new service on offer.
In order to check whether they are eligible, patients should complete this online form (or this print-friendly version), which asks about their issue, and from their responses, then indicates whether they are eligible to self-refer. If they are, they then need to simply contact whichever provider they’d prefer to go to and arrange an appointment.