Audiology

The Audiology department in East Sussex are an experienced team dedicated to providing patient care to over 35,000 users within the area.

Audiology comprises both Adult and Paediatrics (including new-born hearing screening) services.

In addition to the audiologists, assistant technical officer’s and the admin team, the service manages the hearing screening programme (with dedicated hearing screeners). There is also a dedicated senior specialist nurse who specialises in paediatric audiology, working closely with community paediatricians.

Adult audiology receive approximately 1,500 new referrals each year, paediatrics receive over 1,200 referrals per year.

Our audiologists are experienced in diagnostic audiology. The clinical leads are experienced in electrophysiological testing such as Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) on babies, children and adults. The service works closely with ENT consultants, supporting their outpatient clinics.

High specification digital hearing aids suitable for the patient’s individual needs are offered to all appropriate patients. Our main hearing aid provider is PHONAK.

Several members of the team are skilled in Tinnitus management and counselling for both adults and children.

COVID-19: Latest information on appointments, visiting and testing

Our clinics remain restricted for the safety of patients and staff. We are still only able to see set numbers of invited patients at the clinic.

Our Open Access – Walk in Service is closed. We are working on replacement services for the Open Clinic and hope to have more information on our plans soon. We are unable to protect safe physical distancing for unplanned attendance and you should never attend in person for any reason, unless invited to do so.

We provide the following alternative services for existing hearing aid users:

Batteries and Tubes
Please use our ‘Order Hearing Aid Batteries and Tubing‘ online form to order your replacement batteries and tubing.

Hearing aid troubleshooting
Visit our Hearing aid help and repairs page for help and advice.

In the first instance post your hearing aids to us for repair (one at a time if that is easier for you). If you are unsure of the above and require further assistance or guidance, please contact us:

esht.audiology@nhs.net

0300 131 5679

All we ask is ‘look out’ for the mask!
Recently we have had more hearing aids lost due to face masks. Please take care when removing your mask.

Tips for wearing your hearing aids with a mask:

Only take the hearing aids off in places where you are often, such as your car or home and check every time after removal. This limits the location and potential risks of losing the devices
Use a mask with four strings instead of elastic loops. This solution does not use the ears as support
If you wear your hair in a ponytail, simply place the elastic loops around the ponytail. If the elastic loops are too short a rubber band can be added to extend the length of the mask
Have someone help removing the mask
Make it routine to hold your aid in place when removing the mask

ESHT Audiology Services carry out hearing tests on patients of all ages. We arrange hearing-aid provision and maintenance for those who require it and have departments at Conquest Hospital, Eastbourne DGH, Eastbourne Park Practice Community Centre and Heathfield.

Hearing Assessment for the first time
Make an appointment with your GP to discuss your hearing. Your doctor will check your ears and write a formal referral to our service, or the Ear, Nose and Throat clinic as appropriate You will then be offered an appointment to discuss your hearing more fully.

New to Area
If you have a hearing device from another NHS area, or privately purchased, you also will need to follow the procedure above. If your hearing aid is from another NHS area, and it requires repair work to be carried out, then one of our community based East Sussex Hearing clinics at Bexhill, Eastbourne or Hastings may be able to help or advise. We will not be able to take over your care, fully, however, as we will have no history or Hearing aid fitting details for you.

In the meantime, you can also contact your issuing hospital for help and advice even if no longer living in their area. We are unable to support privately bought aids.

Hearing tested before but never had a hearing aid
If you were previously offered a hearing aid and declined, we may be able to offer you an appointment direct if within a year of your original appointment. After this time you would need referred again by your GP.

Visit the C2Hear website for a selection of interactive multimedia videos on hearing aids and how to hear well

Patient Referral Criteria

If you are over 55 years of age you can be referred by your General Practitioner (GP) to be seen by the audiology team. Please discuss this with your GP.

If you are under 55 years of age please discuss with your GP who can advise – the normal referral route is then via the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Department.

Children under 18 years are seen by our specialist paediatric teams.

Local Services

Our two main sites are at Conquest Hospital in Hastings and Park Practice Primary Care Centre in Eastbourne (this services also see patients for diagnosis and testing at Outpatients area B at Eastbourne DGH). We also provide services at Bexhill Hospital.

Short Waiting Times

There are short waiting times for NHS Audiology services. We meet the National Government targets for waiting times, which state that patients should be assessed within 6 weeks from receipt of a GP referral.

High Quality Services

The Audiology team have been awarded ‘Improving Quality in Physiological Services’ (IQIPS) accreditation, which is a programme managed by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS)