Hearing aids are available from the NHS.
The NHS tend to offer a small, restricted range of hearing aids.
These tend to be the BTE – Behind the Ear type.
Your GP can refer you to an NHS provider once it has been established that you do need a hearing aid. The waiting time for getting a hearing aid from the NHS is often longer than the waiting time for a private treatment.
Whilst the provision of NHS hearing aids is an essential service offered, the products available can have limitations, that said there are many people who use them and find they are fine for their needs.
There are many more options available if you seek private treatment. It should be noted that hearing aids are becoming more and more sophisticated due to innovations in technology and there may be a hearing aid that is better suited to your needs that is not available via the NHS. This includes the smaller, less visible and 100% invisible models, plus fully automatic Bluetooth enabled wireless devices which can help you hear much better when faced with difficult listening situations, the main one being back ground noise.
