News
Tinnitus Awareness Week
The British Tinnitus Association is once again promoting Tinnitus Awareness Week this year, which will run from 6 - 10 February.
If you suffer from tinnitus, or if you have a friend or family member who suffers from the condition, then book an appointment to see one of our trained audiologists on our Tinnitus Awareness Day on 9 February at our main centre in Headgate, Colchester.
At our Tinnitus Day you will be able to undergo a hearing test to measure the level of your tinnitus, and will also be able to discuss your hearing issues with one of our professional audiologists. We will provide you with information about tinnitus, what steps you may be able to take to manage the condition and information about what support is available for you.
Recent Department of Health guidelines have emphasised the value of audiometry in a tinnitus consultation, as hearing aids can reduce the effect of tinnitus even when hearing loss is mild.
Book your appointment now by calling 01206 760839.
For more information on Tinnitus, visit the British Tinnitus Association's website:
http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/
A change of venue and a brand new clinic
The start of the new year sees us relocating our fortnightly West Mersea clinics to a new venue nearby.
Due to the popularity of our clinic in West Mersea and the growth of our database we have relocated from Patrick and Menzies Opticians to a new venue at Tim Humphries Physiotherapy and Back Pain Clinic, 12 Yorick Road, West Mersea, CO5 8HT.
Our clinics will run on alternate Tuesdays, beginning on 17 January and our new venue will allow us to offer a full day clinic every fortnight instead of the current half day. Free parking is available on the street.
As usual, consultations are strictly by appointment only. Batteries and other accessories can now only be purchased by post or a telephone order and will be sent to your home. Call 01206 760839 to place your order.
Also coming with the new year is a brand new satellite centre in Tiptree.
The new clinic will be based in Tim Humphries’ Physiotherapy and Back Pain Clinic at 91 Church Road, Tiptree, CO5 0HB, located between Markwin Estates and the Dental Surgery.
The Clinic will run for a half day in the morning on alternate Wednesdays, beginning on 29 February.
We are hoping that the new clinic will make it even easier for our patients in outlying areas to access better hearing, particularly when it comes to ongoing aftercare and support. As always we are offering home visits for the housebound.
You can see the details of the new venue and the new clinic, including maps, on our 'contact us' page.
Rate your local hearing services online
The Hearing Care Centre needs your support, as charity Action on Hearing Loss has launched a new campaign urging people to log onto its website and rate their hearing care provider. The rating scheme covers both private and NHS hearing care providers, and will help individuals find their local hearing services and choose those that are best suited to their needs.
We at The Hearing Care Centre would like to ask all those patients who have been to see us in the last three months to please log on to the Action On Hearing Loss website and rate your experience of our service.
When you visit the site, you will be asked to score and comment on the quality of services you have experienced during the last three months – including the clarity of explanation about your hearing test results, the usefulness of information about communication support services, and whether our service was easily accessible.
To register and rate local hearing services please visit www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/locateandrate.
You can find The Hearing Care Centre under the Private section.
The Hearing Care Centre is now on Facebook and Twitter!
Follow us for product updates, special offers and breaking news on hearing issues:
On Facebook: The Hearing Care Centre (Vicki Skeels)
On Twitter: #HearingCareCol
High honours for Vicki
Our own Vicki Skeels, MD of The Hearing Care Centre in Colchester, has been recognised as one of the country’s leading hearing aid professionals. In the UK’s Audiologist of the Year contest, Vicki received a certificate of special commendation as one of the competition’s few runners-up.
The contest, organised by hearing aid battery maker Rayovac and trade magazine Audio Infos, attracted hundreds of entries from clients keen to show how their audiologist goes beyond the call of duty.
The judges were impressed by the nominations received on Vicki’s behalf. An example being from client Ken Hilton of Clacton, who said: “In today’s society, finding someone who cares about you as much as you care about yourself is very rare. Vicki has demonstrated to me that her commitment to her clients and her profession is second to none.”
This is not the first time that Vicki has been honoured, she also received a certificate of special commendation in the 2008 Audiologist of the Year Awards.
On the road again
Another successful outdoor event for us at the Tendring Show 2011
We have enjoyed another busy summer period of roadshows this year, taking our services outdoors to the general public.
A first for us was exhibiting at the Lion Walk Shopping Centre in Colchester, during Deaf Awareness Week in May. Here we offered video-otoscope examinations and hearing healthcare advice to support the Week’s aim of greater hearing awareness. The event drew quite a crowd and people were fascinated to be able to see the inside of their ears on screen.
A couple of months later, we were out again with our trusty mobile hearing screening van, on another first-time visit to Waitrose Colchester. An unfortunate day for the weather, with rain and winds constantly trying to whip our gazebo into the air! Fewer shoppers were out, but we nevertheless were able to help a number of people with their hearing concerns.
Our travels culminated in another appearance at the Tendring Show 2011, where the rains held out just until we began packing up! As ever, the event was lively, busy and a great success. Nearly half of all people we screened exhibited some degree of hearing loss – proving again that many leave their hearing problems untreated for far too long!
Meet our new hearing dog
In the middle with Freya the hearing dog are owner Caroline Davis (left) and
Vicki Skeels (right), surrounded by staff from the centre and charity
After three years of fundraising, we are delighted to finally sponsor a hearing dog at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.
From raffles to golf days to collecting loose change and more…..all these activities, and the generous support of so many of our clients, have helped us reach the £5,000 target to pay for the full training of a hearing dog. And we were overjoyed to finally meet ‘our’ Freya, a three-year-old little cockapoo (cross between a cocker spaniel and toy poodle), who came to visit us recently with her deaf recipient, Caroline Davis of Clacton.
Caroline says: ‘Before Freya, I had little confidence and didn’t like to go out. But she really helps me now and is a great conversation opener. I can also be more independent and not rely on my family to tell me when the telephone is ringing or when the doorbell goes.’
‘Although we have reached this particular target,’ says Vicki Skeels, md of The Hearing Care Centre, ‘we will continue to support Hearing Dogs for Deaf People in other projects. The charity shares our aim to improve quality of life for those with hearing loss.’