Main navigation

Logo reading Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Community Health. The words Community Health appear in a bold gradient, and a multicoloured heart-shaped symbol is on the right.

Type anything to start your search...

Popular searches:

Get involved with BSW Community Health
A person holds a hand to the ear with a circular soundwave graphic beside it. A person holds a hand to the ear with a circular soundwave graphic beside it.

Adults Audiology and Hearing Therapy (Swindon)

For:

You are here: Home / Services / Adults Audiology and Hearing Therapy (Swindon)

Audiology and Hearing Therapy services are for all conditions of hearing and balance. Our support may be for you or for a relative who needs an assessment. Your GP can assist with how you access our support.

We support you if you experience sound related issues including hearing loss, a difficulty recognising speech where there is background noise, and conditions of tinnitus and sound sensitivity. We perform hearing tests to diagnose, and offer treatments including hearing aid fittings, as well as sessions to help you understand your hearing levels and what lifestyle and behavioural changes will help.

If you have balance symptoms, you may need formal balance testing in hospital first, followed by exercise-based treatment in a community setting closer to home.

About the team

Audiology services for adults will provide NHS hearing aids providing you meet the minimum fitting criteria. They will then maintain them for an agreed period of time. This service is free at the point of contact but only for permanent residents of the United Kingdom. If you lose or damage your hearing aids you may incur a replacement fee, the service will ensure you are aware of what this is, and when it applies when they fit them.

Hearing Therapy services for adults are to help you with understanding your diagnosis and to help with living with all conditions of hearing and balance. These sessions are available as one to one appointments or group sessions and they can be via phone calls, video calls or in person.

We work closely with GPs, ENT consultants and Hearing & Vision teams.

You will be seen by a mixture of audiologists, hearing therapists, assistant audiologists and clinical scientists.

This service is provided by Great Western Hospital.

Who this service is for

We can usually help if:

  • You are registered with a GP in the Swindon area
  • ​​You have concerns about your hearing levels, communication difficulties or sound sensitivity​
  • ​You need an initial hearing test or re-assessment​
  • You need a hearing aid fitting service, plus repairs and maintenance​
  • You have tinnitus or sound sensitivity
  • You need support following tests for balance-related symptoms ​
  • You would like to access support for living with symptoms related to hearing loss and communication difficulties, including in the workplace​

We may not be the right service if:

  • You are not registered with a local GP
  • You need earwax removal
  • You have sudden hearing loss - you ​must see your GP or attend an urgent care service within 24 hours to establish and address the risk of permanent hearing loss
  • You have repeated infections, unexplained pain or a suspected eardrum problem. Your GP will monitor and treat and then refer you the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) service if needed.​
  • You are reporting symptoms that require you to be referred directly to ENT rather than Audiology​
  • You live outside the area covered by this service

Getting help from this service

Professional referral only

This service accepts referrals from professionals, including GPs, only. If you're unsure who can refer you, contact us for advice.

Questions and answers

What support can I get from this service?
It will depend on your age and what the tests indicate, but if you are suitable, we will offer you the option to be fitted with hearing aids and these will be maintained by the service that fitted them. Depending on what you need, we may offer further support for both the workplace and home, such as advice on equipment that boosts hearing aids and whether you can apply for funding for this. We may offer communication skills training in group sessions if your difficulties cannot be helped with amplified sound.
Are services the same everywhere in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire?
The clinical standards for hearing services are nationally set but certain services are only available in specific clinic locations. Your GP will know these and advise you on how to access them.
How do I access these services?
You will usually need a referral from your GP, but if you are fitted with hearing aids, you will need to refer yourself for follow up appointments. You must commit to booking these regularly your provider will advise you on how often.
Do I need a GP referral?
This is needed for all initial referrals. Before attending an audiology appointment, you will need to visit the Practice Nurse for an ear check, so they can rule out wax impaction or infection.
Where will my appointment be?
The exact location will depend on which GP you are registered with or where you live, but appointments will take place in audiology departments in acute hospitals or community clinic settings.
Do you offer tinnitus support?
Yes, but you will need an Audiology or ENT consultation prior to this.
Are lip-reading classes available?
Only in some areas these will be introductory session to help you decide if you want to sign up to a local class run by an independent lip reading teacher.
Do you provide hearing aids?
We’ll advise you if you fit the criteria for an NHS hearing aid, and we’ll fit you with the hearing aid if it’s what you wish. You might have a choice of local services, we would suggest choosing an accessible location that in the coming years you’ll be able to travel to regularly for repairs, and so you can collect batteries and spare tubing.
Back to top
Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Community Health
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.