Hearing aid waiting times fall to all-time low, says DoH

New figures show that waiting times for patients with hearing difficulties to obtain a digital hearing aid have dropped to an all-time low.

The Department of Health (DoH) showed that patients in England now wait an average of 4.9 weeks from GP referral to receiving treatment in direct-access audiology services.

Commenting, health minister Mike O’Brien said: “Across England, the NHS has met its standard to treat patients within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral by their GP and we will continue to support the NHS.”

He said that the figure of 4.9 weeks is “fantastic” and builds on recently released figures indicating that there has been 99.5 per cent reduction in people waiting longer than six weeks for a hearing aid assessment compared to three years ago.

Mr O’Brien, who is the Labour MP for North Warwickshire, said that new technology and support have played key roles in reducing waiting times.