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.

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.

Covid – Update: Broomfield Audiology Outpatient 

Our Adult service is currently only offering limited face to face appointments for emergencies only. We are still here to offer our advice and guidance, so please phone or email us with any concerns you may have. For our Adult service please contact us on: 01245 513237

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

The Hearing Therapy Service is currently operating as a remote service through video and telephone consultations only. If you have any new concerns about tinnitus please speak to your GP. You can also access the BTA website for more information www.tinnitus.org.uk.

Paediatric Audiology will continue with diagnostic assessments as part of the new-born hearing screening programme. Face to face appointments are currently limited to emergencies and essential to care only. 

The Paediatric team are still here for any advice or urgent queries, so please phone or email us with any concerns you may have. 

For our Paediatric Audiology our direct line number is: 01245 513101

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

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.

The Children’s 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.

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

Location

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

Direct access to Audiology is available for the over 50’s requiring a GP referral.  This service is available at Broomfield and Braintree Community Hospital. This service is not currently available at St Peters Hospital, Maldon.

Repair Service - Opening Times

Broomfield Hospital (By appointment ONLY)

• Monday to Friday

St Peters Hospital (By appointment only)

• Wednesday

Braintree Community Hospital (By appointment only)

• Thursday

Please note the repair clinics are by APPOINTMENT ONLY.  This means that if your hearing aid needs to be repaired or checked, please call us on 01245 513237 to make an appointment.  If you require a technical adjustment i.e. clarity/volume, please telephone us on 01245 513237 to request a Follow-up appointment.

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.

Paediatric Audiology Service

We now have a dedicated paediatric phone line which is ONLY for children/parents and young adults who are still in full time education. Children are given priority appointments.

If you have any queries or want to book an appointment please ring:

01245 513101

01245 513237

We are now available to be contacted via the following email address:  audiology.appointments@meht.nhs.uk

Battery Replacement Service 

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

Chelmsford Library

Moulsham Lodge Clinic

Springfield Green Clinic

The Writtle Surgery

Danbury Medical Centre

Braintree Community Hospital

Witham Health Centre (currently closed)

Dunmow St Clare's Hospice Charity shop

Billericay Library

Brentwood Community Clinic (currently closed)

South Woodham Library (Tuesday to Saturday)

St Peters Hospital Maldon

William Fisher Medical Centre

Maylandsea Medical Centre

Plantation Hall, Heybridge

Burnham-on-Crouch Clinic - Tuesdays 8am to 11am and Thursday all day - (currently closed)

Other Services we provide:

Stroke Support

Hearing therapy

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 - Friday 08.30 - 18.00
Canvey Outpatients, Long Road: Every first, third & fifth Monday, 09.00 - 16.15, Every Friday 09.00 - 16.15
Tyrells Clinic: Thursdays, 08.45 - 16.30
Leigh-on-Sea Primary Care Centre: Monday - Friday, 09.00 - 17.00
Rayleigh Clinic: Monday 09.00 - 16.30
Southend Medical Centre: Tuesday 09.00 - 18.00 

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:

Southend Hospital: Monday - Friday, 08.30 - 18.00
Lighthouse Child Development Centre - (Limited times)
Specialist Teacher for the Hearing Impaired - also known as Teacher of the Deaf (sTOD)

The sTOD role is to support and advise on effective provision for hearing impaired children who are identified through SEN Code of Practice Procedures (usually at school/Early Years Action+ or statements of Special Educational Need). The sTOD service provides support for the following children who wear hearing aids:

Pre-school children who have a diagnosis of significant long term bilateral hearing loss and have been referred by a health authority to Special Educational Needs and Psychology Service (SENaPS)

School age children who have been diagnosed of significant long term bilateral hearing loss, have therefore been designated as having exceptional medical needs by SENaPS, and who have been referred by a health Authority or educational psychologist for support at School Action + level.

Children with a unilateral loss may be visited on a one-off basis in response to a health referral, in order to provide advice to the family and/or school.

Contact us

Audiology department: 01702 385019

Brentwood Community Hospital (for appointments): 01702 385576