Adult rehabilitation and hearing aids

Lip reading

Even if we don’t realise it, we all lip read a little, and developing this skill can be helpful for all severities of hearing loss. Adult education centres and colleges of further education often run lip reading classes. Ask us for further information, or contact the Association of Teachers of Lip Reading to Adults.

Consider your listening environment

Think about the situation you are in try and get into the best position for hearing someone. For example, you will always understand people better if you can see their faces clearly when they speak.

Also think about other sound sources; are you sat near a music speaker in a pub or restaurant? Are you sat by a door where people are walking through regularly? Is the kettle on or the tap running when you are trying to have a conversation?

The décor can also have an impact on the sound – are there lots of hard surfaces that might be causing an echo? Is it easier to have a conversation in the living room with softer furnishings than it is to talk in the kitchen or in a dining room with a large table in it?

Ask your family and friends to help. You probably won't hear them if they speak to you from another room. They should face you and speak clearly. Shouting distorts our voice and lip patterns, and can make it harder for you to understand them.

Aids to daily living

There are many devices and products that can help you to hear better in a variety of situations, for example, amplified telephones, flashing doorbells, and alarm clocks that flash or vibrate. There is also equipment that can help with listening to the radio or television.

Your hearing aid needs regular maintenance to ensure it works to its optimum settings for you. We recommend you clean your hearing aid a minimum of once a week and have it serviced with us every 6 months.

Ear wax regularly builds up on your earmould, especially the part that fits into your ear. It can also build up in the hearing-aid tubing. Don’t worry – it’s perfectly normal, however, it can cause the mould and tubing to become hard and brittle, which leads to splitting or breaking. If you regularly clean them, this won’t happen as often, and you’ll maintain your hearing aid’s performance for longer.

Your hearing aid batteries should last you 7-10 days. We provide you with two packs per hearing aid. We would ask that you recycle your batteries through a local shop or supermarket but save the packaging so that the centre can replace the batteries correctly for you.For our patients who just require hearing aid batteries, these can be collected at the Volunteer Helpdesk, at the main entrance to Warwick Hospital. They are also available from other locations across the county.

Download a list of battery centres across South Warwickshire.

If you are unable to attend one of th battery issuing centres, you are more than welcome to request batteries via post to: Audiology, Warwick Hospital, Lakin Road, Warwick, CV34 5BW. Please remember to include your brown battery request book. It would also be appreciated if you would kindly include a stamp addressed envelope to cover return postage of your batteries. Hearing aid batteries are free of charge on the NHS; however, there is no funding to cover postage and packaging

We charge administration costs for replacing hearing aids / earmoulds that are lost or damaged through negligence. The current charge is up to £100 per hearing aid. The hearing aid(s) will only be issued after payment via cash or the chip and pin card service. You are given the opportunity to appeal against any charge and will be sent a decision notice in writing.

The following patient groups are exempt from charges: