Audiology - Transition from Paediatric to Adult Audiology Services

This leaflet provides you with information about transferring your hearing aid care from the paediatric service to the adult service. An appointment will be arranged with your named transition worker. This is likely to be the audiologist who looked after you in the paediatric service.

The transition appointment

During the appointment, we will check your ears and perform a hearing test. The hearing aids will then be fine-tuned and checked to ensure they are working correctly.

We will also provide you with 6 months' supply of hearing aid batteries and will replace the earmould tubing or corda tubing.

Once these measurements have been performed, we will discuss the adult hearing aid services. This will include hearing aid maintenance, lost/damaged hearing aid charges, preventative care, contact details, environmental aids and accessing the hearing aid repair service. You will also be given an adult hearing aid information leaflet and any other written information that may be of benefit to you.

Differences between paediatric and adult audiology services

There are several differences between paediatric and adult audiology services. You will not have any further routine review appointments. This will be arranged at your request if you feel your hearing has changed or if you need to speak with someone regarding your hearing aids.

As an adult hearing aid user, you are responsible for your own hearing aids. It is important to remember they are on loan to you from the NHS. You may be charged for replacement hearing aids if you lose or damage them.

Changes to audiology staff

You may be seen by an audiologist whom you have not seen before. If you have any concerns about this, please contact your named transition worker.

Hearing aids

You will continue to use your current hearing aids and keep the same colour. When your hearing aids need updating, an appointment will be arranged. At this point you will have the choice of continuing with the same colour or alternatively one of the adult hearing aid colours. These are dark brown or chroma beige. If you choose one of these colours, no further changes will be offered. If you already have a chroma beige or dark brown hearing aid, you will continue to stay with the same colour even if the hearing aid is updated in the future.

Regular maintenance and accessing the service

Around six months after your transition appointment, you will require more batteries and replacement earmould or corda tubing. If you feel confident in replacing these, we can send some with batteries in the post. If you would prefer an audiologist to do this for you, please contact us. We now offer a service called click and post. This enables you to order batteries and tubing along with any other necessary consumables on-line. The details of this and how to contact us will be in the adult hearing aid service leaflet.

Environmental Aids

An environmental aid is a piece of equipment that may help you to hear better in a particular situation or environment. This equipment includes streaming devices, loop systems, vibrating alarm clocks and flashing doorbells. We will discuss this equipment with you at your transition appointment.

Further tests

You may have had some medical assessments and investigations carried out when you were younger to try to find out why you have a hearing loss.

We will review the results of these investigations with you and look again to see if there are any further tests that can be done. It is also recommended that you have regular eye tests, and you may be asked at the transition appointment when your last eye test was. If you would like more information, please contact your transition worker.

Transition Passport information

Transition provides the opportunity for young people to take responsibility for their own lives including healthcare choices. Young people go through different transitions at different times. This is why we are trying to plan the process well and make it less stressful for you and your family. From the age of 16 or once you leave full time education; your audiological care will be transferred from paediatric audiology to adult audiology services. This will happen in two Stages:

• Stage 1 (Age 14-16 years). We will explain to you about the process of transition to adult services and you will receive this leaflet to read through. This will be included in one of your routine hearing aid review appointments
• Stage 2 (Aged 16 years or when you have left full time education). You will be transferred to the adult audiology service. You may be seen for any future appointments in the same clinics but with different staff. Your named transition worker will discuss this with you in more detail. We will provide you with this leaflet as well as the adult hearing aid service leaflet. This will provide written information around supporting you as an adult within the service. Further information may be provided dependent on your needs and requirements

The following information is your transition passport details. This enables us to transition you at the right time and with the best resources for you. Your named transition worker will complete this with you at the transition appointment. This information is yours. We will only complete the sections that you are happy to share with us.

If we feel you are not ready for transition to the adult service, we may delay this.

Transition Passport

Personal details
Name:     
Learning disability: YES/NO/Prefer not to say (please circle)
My named transition worker:     

Communicating with you in our service
Preferred communication method:         
Preferred language at my appointment:             
Preferred clinic:     

My hearing loss and hearing aid information
Description of my hearing loss:     

Date of last hearing test (please provide a copy of the hearing test):    

Hearing aid/s make/model and colour:     

Aspirations for my future

Any other discussions with my named transition worker

Date of transition:     

Local and National Support Services

Royal Nation Institute for Deaf People (RNID) 
Offer support for people who are deaf, have hearing loss or Tinnitus.
Email: contact@rnid.org.uk
Website: www.ndcs.org.uk
Telephone: 0808 808 0123
Text: 07360 268988

National Deaf Children’s Society
Provides emotional and practical support for deaf children and their families including the stage of transition from children’s hearing aid services to adult hearing aid services.
Website: www.ndcs.org.uk
Telephone: 0808 800 8880

Additional information

There is limited availability for parking.

We accept calls from Relay (formally known as Type Talk).

If an interpreter is required, please contact the department in advance.

If you would like any further information or have any special requirements, please contact the relevant department using the contact details.

Contact us

Audiology Department Floor One
Nye Bevan House Maclure Road
Rochdale, OL11 1DN
Telephone: 0161 206 1438
Email: NESaudiology@nca.nhs.uk
Website: www.northerncarealliance.nhs.uk/our-services- Audiology

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We are an accredited UKAS Service 8172 - in accordance with the UKAS schedule of accreditation.