Audiology

Staff from the Audiology Department provide a drop-in Outreach Clinic service where people can visit for hearing aid batteries, tubing and minor repairs.

These clinics are held on the:

• First Wednesday of every month between 10am and 2pm at Library @ the LightBox, Barnsley Town Centre.
• Second Wednesday of every month between 9.30am and 1.30pm at Cherry Tree Court (Saltersbrook, Goldthorpe.)
• Third Wednesday of every month between 9am and 1pm at Penistone Clinic (Shrewsbury Road, Penistone.)

Audiology provides home visits within the Barnsley area. We visit patient’s homes, patients in nursing/residential homes and local elderly care hospitals.

Requests should be received from the GP or doctor stating that patients are housebound and unable to attend the hospital for appointments.

Patients who can come by hospital transport would not be eligible for a home visit.

Patients wanting a hearing aid repair should arrange to post the hearing aid to the department or arrange for a relative or friend to bring the hearing aid to the department, as we cannot do home visits for repairs.

Balance is achieved by a combination of receptors in the skeletal system, input from your eyes and input from the balance organs in your ears.

Many people suffer from dizziness at some point in their life and there are many causes of temporary dizziness. Although they can be unpleasant, balance problems are rarely life-threatening. If the ENT doctor or GP feels that your dizziness requires further investigation, they will refer you to the Audiology department.

An assessment will be carried out to determine if your balance system is causing the dizziness and appropriate tests will be performed to determine the extent of the balance problem. Initially, the assessment will involve answering some questions about your symptoms, factors that effect them and your general health.

From there, a treatment plan is created possibly including counselling, exercises to perform at home, and a follow up appointment.

This is the name given to the condition of noises ‘in the ears’ and/or ‘in the head’ with no external source. Tinnitus noises are described variously as ringing, whistling, buzzing and humming.

We assess and treat people with tinnitus who have been referred through ENT or their GP.

We use hearing assessments and tinnitus questionnaires to determine an individuals difficulties in coping with tinnitus, which are the used to develop a treatment plan.

Every patient is unique and respond differently to tinnitus management procedures.

This could include: an explanation of the mechanisms of hearing and tinnitus, a hearing aid or noise generator if appropriate, sound enrichment therapy and counselling on lifestyle, relaxation techniques and sleep.

Your baby will be given a series of routine health checks in the first few days of life, which will include our hearing screen. A trained hearing screener or Audiologist carries out the screen. 

It does not hurt and is not uncomfortable for the baby.

The test will usually be done while your baby is asleep. No anaesthetic or sedatives are used.

• Normal – £20 per ear
• Floating – £25 per ear
• Loops – £3 per ear

• Small Cleaning Kit (£3.00) – This includes a small cleaning brush, a wax removal tool and thin cleaning wires
• Earmould Air Blower (£5.00) – This is used to blow moisture or wax from the tubing
• Large Cleaning Care Kit (£15.00) – This includes 6 cleaning tablets, 10 cleansing tissues, a disinfectant cleaning stick, an earmould air blower, a drying tub (with drying crystals to absorb moisture) and a small tool kit with a brush and wax removal tool

Lost hearing aids – the department now charges for lost aids or those damaged through misuse. For behind the ear hearing aids the charge is £80 inc VAT per aid. Please phone us to book an appointment to replace your aid.

Digital hearing aids – for patients who are hard of hearing, we assess their level of loss, listening needs and issue appropriate hearing aids and equipment to address their hearing problems. For the majority of patients, we prescribe digital behind-the-ear aids.

In addition to hearing aids, there is a wealth of equipment to help with hearing: telephones, personal loop systems, fire and clock alarms, fm listeners and doorbells. We do not issue any of these but are happy to give advice on what might be helpful.

Hearing aid repairs – once a person has received a hearing aid from us, we also provide all ongoing service needs.  If the hearing aid breaks, an appointment is always needed for a repair.  These are available usually the next working day at the latest.

Re-testing hearing – if you think you are experiencing increased difficulty in hearing, you can contact us directly for a appointment.  Otherwise, we recommend you have your hearing re-tested every 4 years.  At that point we can update your hearing aid settings and ensure you are getting the best sound possible.

For further information on these products please contact the Audiology Department, direct.