Wigan MP encourages constituents to take a hearing test

Yvonne Fovargue visited Specsavers in Ashton-in-Makerfield to speak to staff and learn about the process of dealing with hearing impairment.

While best known for its high-street optician services, what is less known is that Specsavers is the largest provider of community audiology services in the British Isles and the largest provider of publicly funded services for age-related hearing loss in England and Ireland.

Over 300,000 new patients are seen annually and Specsavers delivers over 40 per cent of NHS services in areas where it is commissioned.

With a unique business model, each store is a joint venture between the clinicians and managers running the local service.

Age-related, sensorineural hearing loss is the single most common form of hearing loss in adults and although incidence increases sharply with age, it can affect people of all ages.

With one in six people in England living with some form of hearing loss and that figure continues to rise as our life-expectancy increases. The impact of hearing loss on health and wellbeing is largely unrecognised and if uncorrected can lead to social isolation, poor mental-health and cognitive decline.

Makerfield MP Ms Fovargue said: “It takes the average patient seven to 10 years to come to terms with their deteriorating hearing and decide to seek help, by which point their hearing will likely have worsened considerably.

“Two-thirds of people have never gone for a routine test, despite many having experienced some symptoms such as mishearing what people have said or asking people to repeat themselves on a regular basis.”

“My simple message is book a hearing test appointment today.”