PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT: Help in Hearing, Farnham Common and Marlow
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National Campaign for Regular Hearing Tests Championed by Local Bucks/Berks Company
Help in Hearing provide free hearing tests to come into line with eye & teeth check-ups
NEW RESEARCH: Independent Audiologists Provide Better Advice & Care
A national campaign calling for regular hearing tests to become 'the norm' alongside dental and sight tests is being championed in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire by Help in Hearing, local independent audiologists.
"It's only in the last few years that it has become generally accepted in the UK that hearing care is as important as looking after our eyes and teeth", said Selma Becker, MD at Help in Hearing. "We all grow up knowing that our eyesight and teeth will last longer if checked regularly and that our quality of life improves dramatically if we look after them. We need to take the same preventative measures and care of our hearing".
Free Hearing Tests to Support Campaign
The new hearing care campaign, instigated by Audira, a think tank shaping the future of hearing care, challenges the medical norm of 'reactive hearing care', i.e. waiting for a problem to occur before addressing. The campaign lobbies for a preventative approach of regular tests and care. Help in Hearing is an early adopter of this approach and promotes the ‘Eyes Checked, Teeth Checked, Hearing Checked' campaign. Help in Hearing are providing free hearing tests in support of the Audira promotion. Free hearing tests can be requested online at www.helpinhearing.co.uk/contact.
New Research highlights 4 year wait before action is taken on hearing loss
New research from RDSi*, an independent market research consultancy, endorses the need for an enhanced 'consumer journey'. In their report, which surveyed 360 consumers, they found that people experiencing hearing difficulties waited on average 4 years before they visited an audiologist causing further damage to their hearing. The wait is accredited to 2 main reasons outlined in additional research from Action on Hearing*:
Stigma related with wearing hearing aids which stops people admitting they have a hearing problem
A lack of understanding that prompt action will alleviate hearing issues
"When someone wears glasses, it's socially acceptable. Wearing braces for teeth correction are socially accepted. But wearing a hearing aid carries a stigma that makes it feel unacceptable. Today totally invisible hearing aids can help people with hearing problems to avoid this social perception. We have to combat this attitude in the UK and we can only achieve that by making hearing tests a standard activity", said Selma Becker. Free hearing tests are being offered to anyone concerned about their hearing at Help in Hearing's Farnham Common and Marlow clinics.
The RDSi research shows that independent hearing specialists provide better treatment and enable people with hearing problems to discuss problems confidentially and receive unbiased advice and care solutions.
The RDSi research highlights key reasons why consumers should approach and independent hearing care specialist (http://bit.ly/rdsi-research):
63% of consumers look at other sources first then opt to select an independent provider, further delaying action to correct hearing problems
Independent audiologists tick all the key service boxes for patients, services not found elsewhere include:
Aftercare Service
Independent and wide choice of hearing technology
Convenient, confidential location
Quality of service and knowledge of audiologists
Not sales driven
In the UK, 1 in 6 people (10 million) have some form of hearing loss, According to research by Action on Hearing Loss. Over 8 million of these people don't use any kind of hearing assistance or correction. Regular hearing tests are required to detect and manage both genetic and degenerative hearing loss and because of the absence of regular hearing tests it takes on average 4 years for hearing affected people to address their hearing loss.
Free hearing tests can be requested online at www.helpinhearing.co.uk/contact
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Photography & Reports*:
Selma Becker MD, photography: http://bit.ly/selmabecker
Extracts of the RDSi research report can be found in the Spring Issue of the BSHAA magazine in the article: ‘Hearing aids consumer journey survey of 360 UK adults, conducted by rdsi, Nov 2013', http://www.bshaa.com and online at Help in Hearing: http://bit.ly/rdsi-research
The Action on Hearing (formerly RNID) report can be viewed here: http://www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/your-hearing/about-deafness-and-hearing-loss/statistics.aspx
Reference Sites:
Action on Hearing Loss: http://www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk
Audira: http://www.audira.info/en/
RDSi: http://www.rdsiresearch.com/
About Help in Hearing
Help in Hearing has two audiology clinics in Farnham Common and Marlow with specialists that are Registered Hearing Aid Dispenser (RHAD) and Fellows of the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists (FSHAA). Both clinics are located in discreet locations for private appointments and utilise the latest technology for hearing assessment. Help in Hearing is one of the UK's leading audiologists recently chosen by Phonak to become an approved partner for Lyric, the world's first and only 100% invisible hearing aid. Help in Hearing is fully independent of manufacturers and provides a wide range of hearing solutions from all leading manufacturers including Phonak, Oticon, Resound, Siemens, Widex and Starkey.
For more information:
PR Agency:
Mark Robson
Insight Group Marketing
markr@insightgroup.co.uk
07785 395 499
0845 643 6181