24 October 2025

NCHA member update – 24 October

Latest news:

• Please fill in our primary care audiology survey
• People still worry about perceptions of hearing aids
• UK study finds widespread untreated hearing loss
• Fitting formula: the next generation
• HCPC looking for council apprentices
• Conference to include private providers
• Ear to the ground
• Health policy news

Please fill in our primary care audiology survey

The NCHA is collecting data on the role of primary care audiology within the broader health system, including where services are delivered and how long patients wait.

If you provide audiology services in the community, please complete our short online survey by 27 November. We will treat all information in the strictest confidence, and anonymise and merge it to provide a global picture of primary ear and hearing care.

People still worry about perceptions of hearing aids

Stigma and negative perceptions are two of the main reasons why only half of people who know they have a hearing loss are willing to try hearing aids, even though most who do find them helpful.

The latest EuroTrak UK survey looks in detail at self-reported experiences of hearing loss and the use and experience of hearing technology. Read more in Clarity. 

UK study finds widespread untreated hearing loss

A pilot study examining sensory loss in the over-50s found that 76% of participants had a hearing loss. While some of the hearing loss was mild, more than 80% of them had never had a hearing assessment.

Rupert Bourne, ophthalmology professor at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and principal investigator of the UK National Eye Health and Hearing Study, which also showed high levels of unmet eyecare needs, were "deeply concerning" because of the impact on society. Read more in Clarity.

Fitting formula: the next generation

The National Acoustic Laboratories of Australia says that its NAL-NL3 hearing aid fitting prescription, a set of algorithms used to provide optimal amplification for each person's hearing loss, is "more accurate, data-driven and patient-centred".
 
NAL-NL3 is now available to hearing aid and verification equipment manufacturers and will soon be ready for clinical use. It upgrades NAL-NL2, the world's most widely used fitting system, with a more adaptive approach that enables more personalised care.

Read more.

HCPC looking for council apprentices

The Health and Care Professions Council is offering two places on a 15-month
Council Apprenticeship scheme, starting in January 2026. The HCPC said the aim was to "give talented individuals on our register the experience and skills to confidently take part in future governance roles". The closing date for applications is 17 November.

Conference to include private providers

The British Academy of Audiology conference, which will take place in Telford on 20 and 21 November, will include events on private practice, a departure from its usual focus. A range of speakers will present on subjects designed to aid skills for independent practice. Find out more.   

Ear to the ground

• NHS England is inviting healthcare science professionals "at all levels" to its webinar on healthcare innovation on 3 December. Register here.
• Tinnitus UK and the Veterans Welfare Group (VWG) have launched an online hub to support veterans and serving military personnel with tinnitus.
• Which? consumer magazine looks at the aftercare costs of buying hearing aids. Read more.
• The AIHHP has responded to feedback and changed its Hearing Expo to a one day-event on 28 November. The themes are sustainability, inclusivity and versatility.
• Oticon has announced that its new hearing aids, Oticon Intent and Oticon Zeal, will be compatible with the automatic Google Fast Pair automatic Bluetooth system. Read more.
• The charity RNID reports progress on its Subtitle It! campaign, which it launched 10 years ago.
• The magazine Prospect reviews The Quiet Ear, a book by the poet Raymond Antrobus, which challenges the assumption that to be deaf means not having a relationship with sound.

Health policy news

NHS England waiting times
 
The latest NHS England figures show that waiting lists for consultant-led elective care rose for the third month in a row in August 2025. ENT was the specialism with the lowest proportion - 52% - being seen within the 18-week target. Audiology was the diagnostic service with the second highest proportion of patients - 46.4% - waiting longer than the six-week target for an NHS test. Read more.
 
NHS puts brakes on payment scheme reforms
 
The HSJ reports that radical changes proposed to the health service's internal financial payment schemes will not take place in 2026-27. It says that NHS England slides presented to local finance leaders show that several promised reforms would not take place next year, or only incrementally.
 
NHS England had indicated in the past that it was considering phasing out "block payments", fixed contracts that health policy experts have criticised as inefficient because they do not depend on the number of patients treated or the specific care provided. Read more.
 
Harjit Sandhu, the NCHA's chief executive, said: "News that block contracts will take much longer to unwind is a significant concern. NHS funding is tight, and without liberating funds locked into inefficient block contracts it will be difficult to deliver the 10 Year Health Plan goals of shifting services from hospital to community and incentivising more preventive services to keep people well and out of hospital."  
 
The Telegraph reports that, ahead of the autumn budget, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is refusing to fund the whole of Wes Streeting's £1.3 billion package for NHS England redundancies, after the abolition of the arms-length body.
 
CQC chief resigns
 
Sir Julian Hartley has resigned as chief executive of the Care Quality Commission, describing his role as incompatible with an independent inquiry into standards of maternity care at Leeds Teaching Hospitals during his tenure as NHS Trust chief executive.
 
Sir Julian joined the CQC after an independent review that found significant failings at the regulator were "hampering its ability to identify poor performance at hospitals, care homes and GP practices".