Worcester & Stratford Hearing Centres
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Update

During the recent outbreak of COVID-19 Coronavirus, we have been following UK government guidelines and working with the rolling advice from the public health authorities.

We have maintained a close oversight of the guidance issued by Public Health England and the NHS and have aligned our position with this.

We are living in unprecedented times. At Worcester & Stratford Hearing Centres we have come to the difficult decision to cancel our clinic for all face-to-face consultations from Tuesday 24th March until further notice.

We have to limit non-essential physical interactions in order to comply with government advice and most recent recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to be able to protect all of our customers and staff members.

Hearing and communication are essential in a time of emergency. In a time when people are practicing social distancing, we need to be able to communicate virtually via phone and other virtual platforms with loved ones.

Hearing plays a central role in many of these communications, so although our practice is not physically open for consultations at this time, we are here to offer help, advice, repair services and consumable such as batteries and wax filters.

This is a temporary measure for the greater good while we all get through this difficult time. We will be back to our normal opening times and providing our full services as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Please do not hesitate to contact your nearest branch if you have any queries:

Worcester

Call 01905 617803 or e-mail us at worcester@wshearing.co.uk

Stratford:

Call 01789264111 or e-mail us at stratford@wshearing.co.uk

Worcester & Stratford Hearing Centres
CORONAVIRUS COMMUNICATION

During the recent outbreak of COVID-19 Coronavirus, we have been following UK government guidelines and working with the rolling advice from the public health authorities. In line with these guidelines, we have increased our focus on excellent infection prevention and control in all aspects of our care.

We have maintained a close oversight of the guidance issued by Public Health England and the NHS and have aligned our position with this. We have included below a few important links to some of the key aspects of this guidance.

If you are attending our practice, here are some points to keep in mind:

If you have lived with or had close contact (within 2 meters for 15 minutes or more) with a confirmed case of COVID-19, you should contact NHS 111 for further advice, and not attend your appointment.

Preventing spread of infection:

There are general principles we can all follow to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, we will be doing the following:

• Regular hand washing – with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick
• Covering our cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in a bin.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in the work environment

Your health and safety come first and we, as ever will put our customer at the forefront of our business decisions. We fully respect the decision of any of our customers who wish to reschedule their appointments. Please contact your preferred branch.

Worcester

Call 01905 617803 or e-mail us at worcester@wshearing.co.uk

Stratford:

Call 01789264111 or e-mail us at stratford@wshearing.co.uk

We will be closely monitoring the status of government guidelines and will update you accordingly should there be any immediate changes to the running of our practice during this difficult period. We will maintain our normal opening times; Monday to Friday 09.00am to 5.00pm

Appendix: key elements of public health guidance

England

• Coronavirus (COVID-19): latest information and advice

• COVID-19: specified countries and areas

• COVID-19: background information

• COVID-19: investigation and initial clinical management of possible cases

• COVID-19: self-isolation for patients undergoing testing

• COVID-19: infection prevention and control

• COVID-19: guidance to assist professionals in advising the general public

What’s the number one complaint hearing care professionals hear from new patients with hearing loss?

“I can hear, but I can’t understand.” If this is what you’re experiencing, you may have hearing loss.

Hearing loss involves not only the ears, but also the brain where sound is translated into meaningful words. Symptoms that vary between people. Hearing loss comes in all degrees from mild to profound. But most people, especially older adults, have mild-to-moderate hearing loss, especially the type that makes it harder to hear high-pitched sounds. In this case, the only symptom may be difficulty with word understanding, especially in situations where there is competing noise.

Hearing vs. understanding

When your hearing is tested, the results are plotted on an audiogram. People with high-frequency hearing loss are said to have a “sloping” hearing loss. If you have a sloping hearing loss, it means you are able to hear low-pitched sounds, (sounds below 1000 Hz), sometimes even as clearly as someone with normal hearing. But, high-pitched sounds (sounds above 1000 Hz) need to be much louder before you can hear them.

While not always the case, high-frequency hearing loss is often the cause of feeling like you can hear but can’t understand.

Did you say parrot or ferret?

In speech, the vowel sounds (A, E, I, O and U) are low in pitch while consonant sounds like S, F, Th, Sh, V, K, P and others are high in pitch. Being able to hear vowel sounds is helpful and will alert you that speech is present, but it’s the consonant sounds that give speech meaning and help you distinguish one word from another. Without being able to hear subtle differences between consonants, words like “cat” and “hat,” “parrot” and “ferret” and “show” and “throw” can be hard to differentiate. This is why so many people with high-frequency hearing losses brought about by natural aging (presbycusis) or excessive noise exposure have difficulty understanding even when they know sound is present.

Trouble hearing with background noise

If you have a high-frequency hearing loss, you may notice problems understanding speech even in a relatively quiet environment, but when background noise is present or several people are talking at once, it can become nearly impossible to follow a conversation. People with hearing loss that has gone untreated for a number of years sometimes begin to avoid lively social situations or public places they once enjoyed because interacting with others is too difficult.

Signs of high-frequency hearing loss

When you have a high frequency hearing loss, you may have trouble:

• following conversations in quiet and noisy places (hear but can’t understand).
• talking on the phone.
• understanding your favorite TV shows or movies even when you turn the volume up.
• understanding female and young children’s voices because they tend to be higher in pitch.
• enjoying music because it sounds distorted, especially at higher volumes.
• feeling exhausted from listening

Family members, friends and work colleagues can get frustrated and feel you aren’t listening to them when they speak to you. Your spouse may accuse you of having “selective hearing.” You may accuse others of mumbling. Sometimes, you will answer questions inappropriately and miss the punch lines of jokes. Other times, you may resort to smiling and nodding when someone speaks to give the impression you are listening when in fact, you do not understand what was just said. Untreated hearing loss can take a toll on relationships, careers and your daily life.

Don’t accept difficult hearing

If your hearing test reveals hearing loss, hearing aids can amplify the high pitches you’ve been missing without amplifying low-pitched sounds. Once you begin wearing hearing aids, you will notice improvement with understanding speech and you may even notice you’re hearing sounds that have long been forgotten. For instance, some new hearing aid wearers are pleasantly surprised to hear the soft chirping of songbirds for the first time in years. You will once again be able to hear that beeping sound your microwave makes, your car’s turn signal and your phone ringing.

If you can hear, but can’t understand, you’re not alone. This is what we hear almost every day from our patients, and we are highly skilled at getting to the root of the problem, listening to your concerns and finding a solution that meets your needs. Don’t give up on enjoying conversations at work, home and play.

Contact your nearest branch to book your full hearing assessment today.

Source: https://www.healthyhearing.com/report/32039-I-can-hear-just