All our hearing clinics will be closed for Christmas from 2 p.m. on Tuesday 24 December. We’ll be reopening at 9 a.m. on Thursday 2 January in England & Wales, and at 9 a.m. in selected clinics on Friday 3 January in Scotland.
The Campaign for Better Hearing
We encourage you to test your ears at 55 years
The Campaign for Better Hearing is a global initiative, but united by a single cause: to help the world hear better. Hearing loss can lead to isolation, loneliness and even depression. That’s why, through our Give Back Programme, for every 1,000 hearing tests we do, we award a pair of state-of-the-art hearing aids to someone who might not be able to afford them otherwise.
The Campaign for Better Hearing is fighting this by:
1. Raising awareness of the importance of looking after your hearing.
2. Highlighting the impact that hearing loss can have on your health.
3. Encouraging everyone over the age of 55 to have a hearing test.
Your hearing is so important
Staying on top of your hearing health can improve your mental health, your relationships and give you more independence.
Plus, you could enjoy a better connection to your surroundings and the people you care about. The first step towards better hearing is taking a free hearing test.
Plus, you could enjoy a better connection to your surroundings and the people you care about. The first step towards better hearing is taking a free hearing test.
| Audio | Visual |
| I’m supporting the National Campaign for Better Hearing, supported by Hidden Hearing. The World Health Organisation wants us to recognise the importance of early detection and treatment of hearing loss and prevent it from limiting our lives. I wonder how many of you know just how common hearing loss is. Well in the UK today, it affects 12 million people. More than 40% of the population over 50 suffers from some degree of hearing loss and that proportion grows as we get older. You wouldn’t live would you, without glasses if you couldn’t see properly, so why would wearing a hearing aid be any different? Why not commit to having your hearing tested annually. I do, and I also encourage friends and family to do the same as well. So come, join in; test your ears at 55 years. |
Caption appears: Dr Hilary Jones – GP & Health Broadcaster. Dr Hilary Jones is talking directly to the camera. |
| Screen shows Campaign for Better Hearing logo and information: Test your ears at 55 years. The National Campaign for Better Hearing. Join in. Nominate. www.campaignforbetterhearing.co.uk |
Take an online hearing test
If you have noticed a change in your own hearing, then now is the ideal time to do something about it. Make sure that you don't miss out and take an online test today.
The Give Back programme
Hidden Hearing is supporting this campaign, through the Give Back Programme. We are changing lives by providing a free, top-of-the-range pair of private hearing aids to people in the UK who may not be able to afford them.
It’s simple. For every 1,000 tests we do, we give back a free pair of hearing aids. The test doesn’t need to be for you either, just nominate a friend or family member who you think will benefit from having their hearing checked.
Maybe a loved one or someone you know struggles to keep up with conversations, avoids talking on the phone, seems distant in noisy environments or has the TV too loud.
You can book a test for you or them, and have the opportunity to be nominated for the Give Back Programme which changes lives for the better. Please ask your local Hidden Hearing team if you’d like to be nominated for the programme.
Hearing loss – the facts
1 in 5
The number of adults affected by hearing loss
5 to 7 years
The average time it takes before someone takes action on a hearing loss
71%
The percentage of new hearing aid wearers who wish they'd acted sooner
Our Campaign Ambassadors
Give Back Programme recipients become a Campaign for Better Hearing Ambassador, sharing their story and encouraging others to have a hearing test. Here’s what they’ve been saying.
Christine Wright
“I said, ‘Hello, I can hear you on the phone now’, and she promptly burst into tears.” Christine Wright, from Stockport, on speaking to her sister by phone for the first time in 30 years.
Alex Slight
“Better hearing has transformed my life. I’m more connected and I’m safer cycling as I can hear the traffic.” Alex Slight, South London, on feeling safer cycling to work every day.
Helen Mol
“My husband said I looked so much brighter, and I felt happier.” Helen Mol, an intensive care nurse from Surrey, on returning from a day’s work with new hearing aids.
Colin Thackery
“Living life to the full is very important. It keeps you young, it keeps you active, it keeps your mind alive”, says Colin Thackery, Britain’s Got Talent winner, 2019. “Oh, I love listening to music”, he continues, praising his “extraordinary” hearing aids. “I’ve been able to witness the advance in technology … this facility to be able to hear music on my phone, for example.”
Watch Colin’s video to find out about the impact hearing aids have had on his life, on his music and the benefits of better hearing.
| Audio | Visual |
| Oh I’ve always loved music. I’ve been singing since I was a choirboy really. That was a long time ago. And more recently, it has to be said, winning Britain’s Got Talent, which is absolutely extraordinary. | Caption reads: Colin Thackery, Winner – Britain’s Got Talent 2019. Colin is sitting on the sofa. He is looking through an old photo album. Colin is with a friend, watching his performance on Britain’s Got Talent on a laptop screen. |
| Who would ever have thought it, as I went into the competition for a dare anyway? Someone dared me to do it in the room next door. | Colin is reading letters from his fans. |
| I’ve realised over the years, of course as one gets older, hearing aids have been very important, hearing is important, of course that’s what it’s all about, and singing as well, you know because if you’re going to sing, you’ve got to be able to sing in tune; it helps if you can hear properly. | Colin is walking through the grounds of the Royal Chelsea Hospital with a fellow Chelsea Pensioner. |
| Music is very important to people with any form of dementia because it brings back memories, and all the experts will tell you that. If they hear me singing a song and they recognise the song, as I said before, they’ll join in. | Colin is on stage, in his full Chelsea Pensioner uniform, singing to other Chelsea Pensioners. One is tapping their foot, another is tapping their hand in time as they are listening to him sing. |
| I’ve welcomed the tremendous advance in hearing aids since the very first one I ever had. Of course recently I was issued with these extraordinary hearing aids I’ve got at the moment, and the clarity in these is absolutely remarkable. So the advance in technology, I’ve been able to witness that over the years. | Colin is in a Hidden Hearing clinic. The audiologist is looking in his ear with an otoscope. Colin is pointing to a pair of hearing aids on the desk in the clinic. Colin is smiling, standing next to the audiologist, and is in his full Chelsea Pensioner uniform. |
| This facility to be able to hear music on my phone for example. I can just leave my phone in my pocket, turn it on and of course it’s been a great advantage when learning new songs recently – especially one particular song that was completely unknown to me that they wanted to include in the album. So this was advantageous just to be able to sit on a bus or anywhere, and just be able to listen to this song over and over again until I got the melody in my head. | Colin is sitting on his sofa while he’s speaking to us. |
| Living life to the full is very important. It keeps you young, it keeps you active, it keeps your mind alive. I’m very proud that apparently, I appear to be the oldest person in the world, but certainly in this country, to have signed a contract [*Debut Solo Album], which I think proves the point that you’ve got to keep trying, there’s lots of things you can do, and age – after all – is only a number. |
Colin is brushing the hat of his uniform. Colin is walking through the grounds of the Royal Chelsea Hospital with a fellow Chelsea Pensioner. Colin is sitting on his sofa while he’s speaking to us. Screen shows Campaign for Better Hearing logo and information: Test your ears at 55 years. The National Campaign for Better Hearing. Join in. Nominate. www.campaignforbetterhearing.co.uk |