We’d like to introduce to you the latest product from Phonak, the Audéo Paradise hearing aids. These revolutionary hearing aids are inspired by nature, as nature is the source of so many sounds that can soothe, relax and comfort us.

Comprised of all new hardware, Paradise takes hearing performance to the next-level by offering not only crisp, natural sound but also several new features.

Voice assistance access at a tap

Imagine answering phone calls, streaming or pausing music, and activating voice assistants just by tapping your ear. A motion sensor in Phonak Paradise offers you an effortless way to do all that and more. The built-in microphone allows you true hands-free calls and voice assistant activation.

Connects to smartphone, TV and more

Phonak Paradise connects directly to your iOS®, Android™ or other Bluetooth®-enabled devices so you can stream audio in excellent quality directly to your hearing aids. Plus, as an added convenience, you can simultaneously connect to two Bluetooth devices and seamlessly alternate between the two.

First of all…

We hope this message finds you and your families well. Our hearts go out to anyone who has been impacted by the virus, either directly or indirectly. Our thoughts are especially with those who are sick, to whom we extend our heartfelt wishes for a full recovery. We’re truly inspired by the selfless key workers who have been working tirelessly to keep all of us safe.

At Worcester & Stratford Hearing Centres, we are focused on the health and safety of our employees, families and communities. We have put extra measures in place to keep all of our staff and customers safe and healthy, in line with professional bodies and government guidance.

Appointments available now for existing patients

From Monday 1st June, we will be offering appointments to new patients.
Also, we will be contacting all of our customers who have missed appointments during the lockdown to reschedule.

We are following strict infection control procedures and social distancing methods as indicated by the NHS, BSHAA and BAA guidelines; for appointments, sanitisation and sterilisation.

Guidelines for attending appointments

By accepting your appointment you have agreed to the best of your knowledge:

•  You or anyone in your household does not have COVID-19.
•  You or anyone in your household has had contact with anyone who has tested positive or shown symptoms of COVID-19.
•  You do not have a new, continuous cough.
•  You do not have a high temperature (37.8 oC or over).
•  No one in your household has a new, continuous cough or a high temperature.

By providing this information at the time of our call, we have agreed to provide you with an appointment. If we suspect that this information is not a true reflection of your condition, we reserve the right to refuse the appointment for your safety and ours.

What we ask you to do:

•  Arrive at the allotted and agreed time not early & certainly not late. If early, wait outside until you are called into the clinic.
•  If you depend on a supportive contact for transport to the practice we ask them to wait outside for you to finish. Unless required for assistance due to disability.
•  The temperature of the customer will be taken on arrival, when filling out COVID-19 declaration.
•  Once on the premises please refrain from touching anything unnecessarily.
•  You will be given hand sanitiser to thoroughly clean your hands. We ask you to bring a face mask, if you do not have one we will provide one but there will be a £1 charge.
•  If for some reason, you need to cough, or sneeze, warn the audiologist immediately or put your mouth into your sleeve if a warning is not possible.
•  Follow the instructions of the audiologist and please indicate if you do not understand anything.
•  Keep light conversation to a minimum during the appointment unless its related to the procedure particularly if you are within 2m of the audiologist
•  When leaving please sanitise your hands again & refrain from touching anything where possible.

We have prepared for re-opening

Both of our practices have undergone a deep clean sanitisation procedure as a precautionary measure.

We have sanitised our carpets and all surfaces, focusing on touch points including equipment, furniture, desks, computers, doors, floors, kitchens and toilets.

We have teamed up with Dynamic Cleaning Services, another local business, for this endeavour.

We have been here to help our customers as best as we can

During periods of social distancing and isolation, having working hearing aids is essential to keep users communicating with family and friends and keeping up to date via the TV and radio.

Even though we haven’t been able to offer face-to-face consultations during this difficult time, we have been supporting our customers, in both Worcester and Stratford, with telephone consultations, hearing aid repairs and providing battery supplies.

You can contact your nearest branch if you need
to book an appointment or if you have any queries. 

We are here for you.

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

Enjoy the sounds of spring

Reconnect with nature and enjoy its sounds during this beautiful time of year.

Birds singing, leaves rustling through the blossoming trees, buzzing bees flying around from one flower to another, a flowing stream and even spring showers are a few of the wonderful sounds you could be missing this season.

Spring into action

It’s all too easy to miss out on natures subtle sounds if you are experiencing hearing loss.

In addition to being able to hear the sounds of nature, our bespoke hearing solutions will allow you to experience clarity in speech.

So you can enjoy a gathering in the garden or a walk along the river with your loved ones.

Contact us to book one of our 100 FREE hearing assessments available HERE.

What is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is the perception of noises in the head/or ear which have no external source. Those living with the condition may have to endure a ringing, buzzing, hissing whistling or other noise. The sensation can be constant or intermittent and can vary in volume.

The British Tinnitus Association claims that 1 in 8 people in the UK are living with persistent tinnitus.

Is there a cure?

Currently there is no known cure for Tinnitus but there are a number of strategies that can be very helpful in managing the symptoms such as correcting any hearing loss and counselling.

What can be done about Tinnitus?

Tinnitus can’t always be prevented and there are many causes and reasons why people experience the condition. There are a variety of ways you can help protect yourself from tinnitus in certain situations such as using earplugs and listening through headphones at a safe level.

Help yourself from Tinnitus

Most cases of tinnitus are linked to hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear, such as through normal ageing or exposure to loud noise. This type of hearing loss is called sensorineural.

For more information visit our Tinnitus Therapy page.

Contact your nearest centre and book your Tinnitus Assessment today.

The link between tinnitus and hearing loss

Medical research in the past few years has shown that those who have tinnitus also have some form of hearing loss.

A hearing loss can come in many different forms and in a range of different frequencies. For some, this hearing loss can be small or only affect a narrow band of frequencies as the result of a minor injury to the inner ear so that it does not result in hearing loss apart from the tinnitus or ringing ears experienced.

This could mean a hearing loss which cannot be measured by conventional hearing tests. In these instances, it is called a hidden hearing loss. A typical sign of hidden hearing loss is when it is difficult to hear because of background noise.

Absent audiological input

Medical research carried out in the past few years indicates that tinnitus is caused by absent or reduced nerve activity in the nerves which connect the damaged part of the inner ear to the central nervous system in the brain. This then leads to increased nerve activity as the signals travel to the hearing centre of the brain. When this increased activity reaches the hearing centre of the brain, a sound is heard even though the ear is not picking up any sound from its surroundings. This is called tinnitus.

Acoustic overexposure can both damage the hair cells in the inner ear as well as the nerves which send signals from the inner ear to the brain. Acoustic overexposure can result in noise-induced hearing loss.

The hair cells and the nerves can also be damaged by other things such as otoxic drugs and this can then lead to tinnitus.

Spontaneous signals in the brain

According to medical research, it is the absent audiological input from the inner ear to the brain which causes the hearing nerves between the inner ear and the brain to spontaneously send signals to the brain which are interpreted as sound – and this is tinnitus.

In most animal tests in which the animal had a hearing loss, the animals had tinnitus. Other tests have shown that humans with reduced audiological input are more likely to hear phantom sounds.

Other studies have however shown that treatment for hearing loss and with this the increase in audiological input – for example through digital hearing aids or operations – can reduce tinnitus or at least the tinnitus experienced. This can be because other audiological input wholly or partially “hides” the tinnitus. It can however also be because the spontaneous signals in the nerves are reduced.

Everyone with tinnitus therefore has some form of hearing loss. On the other hand, not everybody with a hearing loss also has tinnitus. The key thing for anyone with tinnitus to understand is that there are tinnitus treatment options.

If you have been struggling with tinnitus, you can book your full hearing assessment by contacting your nearest hearing centre

Worcester:

01905 617803

worcester@wshearing.co.uk

Stratford:

01789 264111

stratford@wshearing.co.uk

Source: https://www.hear-it.org/Close-relationship-between-Tinnitus-and-Hearing-loss

Join us for our Open Week

9^th to 13^th September

Worcester & Stratford Hearing Centres are happy to announce our Open Week, offering 100 free full hearing assessments from 9^thto 13^th September..

Our state of the art hearing centres are of the highest standard practices in the country and we are giving people a chance to benefit from a free consultation with an audiologist worth £75 for anyone who is having any hearing difficulties or may need to see a hearing specialist.

Our practices boast custom made sound booths for performing detailed hearing tests including speech in nose testing and video otoscopy so you can view the inside of your ear.

Director of Audiology, Tom Dixon says “We have brought back our Open Week by popular demand for clients who feel family and friends would benefit from a full diagnostic hearing assessment. This is the perfect opportunity for any local people who have any hearing difficulties to come and see a team of highly qualified professionals who specialize in providing high standard expertise and care.”

The assessment will consist of a full evaluation of your hearing and ear health, you will be shown the inside of your ear on a video otoscope, pure tone audiogram will be performed to show the hearing thresholds and then a speech in noise test to establish a level of real world, effective hearing.

Worcester & Stratford Hearing Centres are the only consultant approved hearing centres in Worcestershire and Warwickshire respectively,  you can rest assured you are receiving the very highest standards of audiological and customer care.

To book one of our 100 free full hearing assessments, contact your nearest centre today.

After months of hard work and dedication, we are delighted to announce the launch of our brand new website!

Our goal with the new website is to provide visitors with a user-friendly browsing experience and an easier way to learn about Worcester & Stratford Hearing Centres. We are an independent family run business; our values and specialists are the same across both centres. Both of our centres are consultant approved and provide the highest standards in audiology and hearing care. 

Among the new features, the site contains our 3-minute online hearing test. It gives you an idea of how well you are hearing. 

In our new “Patient Resources” page you can find helpful videos about hearing aids; such as how to tell which hearing aid is right or left, how to change or recharge the batteries, how to use a dry box and how to clean the devices, to name a few.

You can also stay updated by visiting our blog or by following us on social media to find out more about the latest hearing technology, articles, announcements and client testimonials.