30 January 2026

NCHA member update - 30 January

This month:

• Tinnitus charity puts on week of events
• MP losing patience over audiology delays
• NHS patients struggling to get hearing aid batteries
• Lack of equality training ‘putting Deaf patients at risk'
• Ear to the ground
• Health policy

Tinnitus charity puts on week of events

The theme of this year's Tinnitus Week, in the first week of February, will be Live Music and Tinnitus, centred on a campaign for hearing health and safer listening.  
 
We encourage members to share information about tinnitus and draw attention to organisations that help people with the condition, including Tinnitus UK.
 
Events include the Quiet Night Out in support of Tinnitus UK on 5 February. It promises an evening of music, spoken word, comedy and connection, presented at sound levels designed to be comfortable for people living with tinnitus or sound sensitivity. Learn about this and other events around the country.

MP losing patience over audiology delays

Lee Pitcher, MP for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, has called on the government to take urgent action to tackle long delays for hearing services, after some constituents reported waiting for years for basic NHS hearing tests.
 
"People are being left without working hearing aids," Mr Pitcher said in a parliamentary debate, adding that some have had to attend multiple appointments before having the assessment. He said: "It's not right, it is not good enough, and I will not accept it any more [...] No one should have to live without the basics of hearing support for months on end, especially when this can affect education, employment and overall quality of life."
 
His comments follow Sally Jameson, MP for Doncaster Central, raising the issue in a parliamentary debate earlier this month. In December, MPs from across the political spectrum held a Westminster Hall debate in which they raised concerns about the wide variation in access to community audiology services, persistent workforce shortages, and a lack of national oversight in the profession. Read more in Clarity.

NHS patients struggling to get hearing aid batteries

A notice from NHS Supply Chain has confirmed that there is a shortage of button batteries for the most common hearing aid. It said the problem is likely to be resolved in mid-March.
 
Patients who are entitled to free batteries report that they are having to switch off their hearing aids or pay for batteries because GPs and hospital audiology departments are rationing existing supplies to one pack at a time. Read more in Clarity.

Lack of equality training 'putting Deaf patients at risk'

A freedom of information request from the RNID has revealed that most NHS staff have not undertaken training on the Accessible Information Standard, a requirement for NHS providers in England to ensure they communicate with people with disabilities or sensory impairments in a way that they can understand.
 
The charity reports that many people with hearing needs are at risk of harm if the NHS does not enforce the accessible information standard, because they can miss appointments, not hear themselves being called in waiting rooms and misunderstand diagnoses. Read more in Clarity.

Ear to the ground

• The British Academy of Audiology has expressed its concerns to NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care that reorganising the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme without adequate clinical oversight could put patient safety at risk.
• New European study investigates whether combined tinnitus treatments work better than one at a time. Read more.
• Australian researchers find that hearing aid use in older people may lower the likelihood of dementia, although differences in age-related cognitive change were insubstantial. Read more.
• NHS Humber Health Partnership launches audiology clinics in Scunthorpe's new Community Diagnostic Centre.

Health policy

Westminster primary care event

The NCHA joined primary care colleagues at a parliamentary event this week to talk to MPs about the importance of continued investment in front-door services.

David Hewlett, director of policy and strategy at the NCHA, the Association for Primary Care Audiology Providers, said: "It was great to see all parts of primary care coming together in parliament today, to promote what needs to happen under the 10 Year Health Plan and the Darzi review, as well as to see MPs turning up to find out more and lend their support to our shared primary care goals.

"We all back the shift from hospital to the community, but this requires funding to follow the patient and a strategic steer from central government - otherwise, the NHS will not deliver the 10 Year Plan. We will continue to work together to ensure the voice of primary care is heard at all levels." Read more in Clarity.

Scottish Budget

NCHA Scotland has welcomed news that the latest Scottish Budget includes a funding uplift to help community hearing services.

A government statement said primary and community health provision allows for a 51.8% increase in "other services" in 2026-27, including "increased investment in audiology to support preparatory work for community hearing service development".

It is not clear if this includes provision for NHS-funded primary care audiology, which is not currently available in Scotland. If put to good use, the extra funding would reduce inequalities in access between those who can pay for primary care audiology and those who are having to endure long waits for NHS-funded care. Read more in Clarity.