Audiology services

Audiology - adults

Important information

The adult hearing service is reopening to specific patients. Whenever possible we are seeing patients via phone/video consultation.

If you do require a face to face appointment, this will be arranged by the Audiologist via call/video after assessing your needs.

Please do not attend without an appointment as we will be unable to see you.

All open access repair and advice clinics have been suspended indefinitely.

You can contact the service by:

Phone: 8am - 5.30pm Monday - Friday 01268 394732
Email: AudiologyAdult@btuh.nhs.uk

Assessments/hearing assessments:

For patients who have not been seen by the service before, a GP referral is required. For existing patients, please contact the department in the first instance.

Hearing aids & repairs:

We offer a postal repair service and are able to offer a drop-off/pick-up service by prior arrangement only.

We are able to adjust many hearing aids remotely using smartphone technology, this will reduce the need for you to attend the department.

• Danalogic retubing guide
• Danalogic -thin tubes guide

Who the service is for

People with hearing difficulties, balance disorders, and associated problems.

About the service

The Audiology Department consists of three separate teams. These teams offer a full range of services, both routine and complex, for people of all ages.

Services are offered at Basildon Hospital, Orsett Hospital, Grays Health Centre as well as in the community.

The Hearing Centre - Adult Rehabilitation and Balance Service
Telephone: 01268 394732
Email: audiology@btuh.nhs.uk

Opening times: Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

The Hearing Centre provides diagnosis, treatment and support for patients aged 16 and over, who suffer from hearing difficulties.

This can be in the form of hearing aid amplification, bone-anchored hearing aids or listening strategies. Ongoing support is provided for all patients with hearing difficulties.

Patients requiring a cochlear implant, or assessment of a complex hearing problem, will be referred onto another hospital.

ENT support is also provided on a daily basis.

The balance service team provide a wide range of hearing and balance tests. These include vestibular assessment and diagnosis, with rehabilitative support where needed.

A direct-access hearing aid service is available for all patients over the age of 50.

Hearing therapy services are available for patients with profound hearing loss or tinnitus.

Adult Audiology Repair and Advice Clinics:

Please call 01268 394732 if you wish to book an appointment.

Audiology - children

An overview of what to expect at your appointment

For younger children (newborn- 2½ years) 

Auditory Brainstem response test

This test is usually done on babies who are too young to show a physical response to sounds. Your baby will need to be asleep throughout the duration of the test. More information will be provided on the leaflet which will be sent out with your appointment letter.

Otoacoustic emissions test

This test is a good indicator as to how well the inner ear is functioning. A soft-tip is placed in your child's ear that plays clicking sounds. This test is sensitive to movement and noise so it is important that we keep your child as still as possible throughout testing.

Otoscopy

We may examine your child’s ear canal and eardrum to check for wax or any signs of congestion using a torch called an otoscope.

Tympanometry

This test provides information on how well the middle ear is working, children are prone to being congested (also known as ‘glue ear’) behind their eardrums and this may affect the quality and level of sound getting to the inner part of the ear. A gentle puff of air is delivered into the child’s ear and the movement of the eardrum is measured.

Visual re-inforcement audiometry

Sounds are played either through small speakers in the room, earphones or a bone conductor. We condition your child to turn to see a visual reward such as a puppet, when they hear a sound. We aim to measure the quietest level of sound at which your child will respond.

For older children (2½- 5 years)

Otoscopy and tympanometry

Conducted where needed (see above).

Play audiometry

Sounds at different levels and pitches are played through a speaker, headphones or a bone conductor. We will teach your child to perform a repetitive play task, such as placing a brick in a basket/ man in the boat, each time they hear a sound.

Speech testing

Your child will be asked to point to different toys or pictures, or to repeat words they have heard, when listening to a recorded voice played at different levels.

All results will be explained and a copy will be given to you on the day. If for any reason we fail to complete testing we may need to bring you back in on another day.

The Audiology Department

Audiology runs alongside the Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Department at Broomfield Hospital. We also run satellite clinics at St Peters Hospital in Maldon and Braintree Community Hospital.

Location 

The Audiology Department is based in A101 (Outpatients), 
Broomfield Hospital, Court Road, 
Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 7ET. 

If you are a new patient and have concerns with your hearing, please contact your local GP. 

Direct access to Audiology is available if you are over 50 and meet the referral criteria. Access to these services also require a GP referral.

Currently hearing tests can only be caried out at Broomfield Hospital and Braintree Community Hospital. We're hoping to resume services at St Peters in the new year (2023).

The Adult Audiology service provides a range of comprehensive audiological tests including diagnostic hearing assessments and hearing therapy.  Since April 2004 all patients are fitted with digital hearing aids. 

Existing adult service users requiring an appointment, repair or advice and guidance:

Phone:  01245 513237

Email: mse.broomfieldaudiology.info@nhs.net  

Repair service - opening times 

Repair clinics are by appointment only.

Broomfield Hospital (appointment only) - Monday to Friday 

St Peters Hospital (appointment only) - Monday and Thursday 

Braintree Community Hospital (appointment only) - Thursdays

Postal requests 

For replacement corda tubes or batteries by post, please send in your brown record book with a large letter stamp to cover the return postage to:

Audiology Dept (A101), 

Broomfield Hospital, Court Road, Broomfield, 

Chelmsford, CM17ET

Battery replacement service  

You will be able to collect batteries from the following Clinics on production of your brown book or issue card: 

• Chelmsford Central Library 
• Braintree Library 
• Witham Library 
• Kelvedon Library 
• Hatfield Peverel Library 
• Coggeshall Library 
• Silver End Library 
• Billericay Library 
• South Woodham Library (Tues-Sat) 
• Moulsham Lodge Clinic 
• Springfield Green Clinic 
• The Writtle Surgery 
• Danbury Medical Centre 
• Braintree Community Hospital 
• Dunmow St.Clare’s Hospice Charity Shop 
• Brentwood Community Clinic 
• St Peters Hospital Maldon 
• William Fisher Medical Centre 
• Maylandsea Medical Centre 
• Plantation Hall Heybridge 
• Freshwell Health Centre, Finchingfield
• Tollesbury Surgery

You can also access http://c2hearonline.com/ for advice and operational assistance for your hearing aids. 

Hearing Therapy: The Hearing Therapy Service works closely with the Audiology Department and alongside ENT to provide support for people with tinnitus, hearing and balance problems. If you have any new concerns about tinnitus, please speak to your GP. You can also access the BTA website: https://www.tinnitus.org.uk  for more information. 

Paediatric Audiology: Existing Paediatric Audiology users, please phone us on our direct paediatric line; 01245 513101. This is a line for paediatrics ONLY and is allocated for children/parents and young adults who are still in full-time education. Children are given priority appointments. 

Alternatively, you can email us at mse.broomfieldaudiology.info@nhs.net  with any concerns you may have.  

The Paediatric Audiology service provides diagnostic assessments of hearing function on all babies and children until the age of 18, with intensive rehabilitation for babies and children requiring hearing aids.  

With the introduction of National Neonatal screening programme in January 2004, all new born babies receive hearing screening which has led the way forward in the care for babies identified with a permanent hearing loss. 

Paediatric Audiology at Broomfield Hospital do not accept direct referrals directly into the service, and these will be re-directed to the Community Audiology Team (see section below). 

Community Children’s Audiology in the Mid Essex area is based at Stapleford House Children’s Centre in Chelmsford and can take referrals for babies and children from the age of 7 months upwards, referrals can come from various health representatives including GPs, Health Visitors, Paediatricians and speech and language therapists. Please see website below on how your child can be referred. 

https://providechildrenandfamilyservices.co.uk/services/childrens-audiology/ 

Useful websites

Adults: 

www.hearinghelpessex.org.uk 

www.royaldeaf.org.uk 

https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/help-with-transport-costs/ 

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/healthcare-travel-costs-scheme-htcs/ 

Paediatrics:

https://www.ndcs.org.uk/information-and-support/money-and-benefits/other-financial-support/ 

https://www.ndcs.org.uk/information-and-support/money-and-benefits/ 

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/healthcare-travel-costs-scheme-htcs/ 

Our audiology team is here to help you manage hearing or balance difficulties, with or without the use of assistive listening devices such as hearing aids. We also investigate the causes of hearing loss and balance problems in support of the ear, nose and throat (ENT) department.

Hearing assessment clinic

Our audiologists provide hearing rehabilitation, along with the fitting and maintenance of hearing aids where appropriate. Your audiologist will ask a variety of questions and perform different tests to help establish how your hearing is working. Some of the procedures that will be carried out during your appointment include:

Otoscopy - thisinvolves an audiologist looking into your ears with a magnified light source. The audiologist will be looking at the condition of your ear drum and ear canal.

Audiometry - your hearing will be tested using an audiometer. An audiometer produces tones via headphones or a head band device. This test helps the audiologist record the minimum sounds that you can hear across the speech frequency range.

Microsuction - if you have significant wax, the audiologist may ask a doctor or nurse to remove this by microsuction.  This involves using a small vacuum device. If you require this procedure the doctor/nurse will explain it to you in more detail.

Once all the tests have been completed your audiologist will explain the test results and start to discuss what you can do if you are found to have a problem with your hearing. In some cases this may involve referring you onto a specialist doctor.

Adult audiology

Our audiology team can only see adult patients that have been referred by their GP for assessment for a hearing aid or tinnitus. If you wish to see an audiologist, we need you to make an appointment. We offer appointments at the clinics below, all of which need to be booked directly through our audiology department:

• Southend Hospital: Monday to Friday, 8.30am – 5.30pm
• Canvey Outpatients, Long Road: Every first, third and fifth Monday, 9am - 4.15pm, Every Friday 9am - 4.15pm.
• Tyrells Clinic: Thursdays, 8.45am - 4.30pm
• Leigh-on-Sea Primary Care Centre: Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm
• Southend Medical Centre: Tuesday 9am - 5.30pm. 

Paediatric audiology

We aim to provide a high quality, efficient and friendly service for all children with suspected audio-vestibular and communication disorders in order for them to achieve their full potential.

All children with hearing concerns will need to be referred to either the ear, nose and throat (ENT) department or to the Paediatric Audiology clinic at the Lighthouse Child Development Centre. Babies tested through the newborn hearing screening program will be referred directly to our audiology team where required.

If you would like your child to see your named audiologist for a hearing review we need you to make an appointment. If you child needs there hearing aid repaired we offer appointments at the clinics below, all of which need to be booked directly through our audiology department:

Download  Visiting the Lighthouse Centre for your Hearing test [pdf] for more information.

Contact us

Audiology department: 01702 385019

Brentwood Community Hospital (for appointments): 01702 385576

Hearing aid battery service

NHS Hearing aid batteries can now be collected from the following clinics/libraries:

Benfleet: Tyrells 39 Seamore Avenue, SS7 4EX – 01702 385533

Canvey Island: Central Canvey Primary Care Centre, The Paddocks SS8 0JA - 01268 686000 and Canvey Outpatients, Long Road, SS8 0JA - 01702 385111 and The Health Centre, Third Avenue - 01268 683758.

Eastwood: Kent Elms Surgery – SS9 5UU, Dr Krishnan (ground floor) - 01702 522012

Great Wakering: Health Centre High Street SS3 0HX - 01702 577800

Hadleigh: Victoria House Corner SS7 5TG- 01702 578600

Hockley: 53 Spa Road, SS5 4AR- 01702 578700

Hullbridge: Riverside Medical Centre, 175 Ferry Road, SS5 6JH - 01702 230555

Leigh-On-Sea: Leigh Primary Care Centre, 918 London Road SS9 3NG. (Near Iceland) - 01702 482800

Belfairs Chemist: 327 Eastwood Road North - 01702 525123

Rayleigh: Eastwood Road, SS6 7JP - 01268 366600

Rochford: Raphael House, Old Ship Lane, SS4 1DD - 01702 543404

Shoeburyness: Campfield Road, SS3 9BX - 01702 987798

Southend-On-Sea: Warrior House, 42 – 82 Southchurch Road, SS1 2LZ – 01702 456820 and St Lukes Health Centre, Pantile Avenue, SS2 4BD - 01702 611505

Westcliff-On-Sea: The Valkyrie Road Primary Care Centre, 50 Valkyrie Road - 01702 220170 and North Road Primary Care Centre, 183-195 North Road - 01702 224900

Brentwood Area: Brentwood Community Hospital, Crescent Drive - 01277 695000

The following libraries are issuing batteries: Brentwood, Shenfield, Ingatestone and Billericay library. Contact them on 0345 603 7628.

Alternatively, you can send a large, stamped, self-addressed envelope to the audiology department, Southend Hospital.