BIHIMA Survey Highlights Pressures on UK Hearing-Care Services

A 2025 survey by the British Irish Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (BIHIMA) describes growing pressure on UK hearing-care services. The association says broader participation by NHS and private-sector professionals helped reveal longer waits, staffing shortages, limited access and gaps in publicly available earwax-removal services.

BIHIMA chair Paul Surridge said clinicians were carrying increasing workloads while services did not meet all patient needs. He called for collective action to widen access, improve standards and support education, investment and public awareness.

Issues raised by respondents

• Access and reform: Many respondents favored national self-referral options, more community clinics and possible vouchers for private care. They saw GP gatekeeping as a barrier to timely treatment and called for free, standardized earwax removal in primary care.
• Stigma and language: Audiologists asked the sector to reconsider expressions such as “invisible hearing aids” and communicate in ways that normalize hearing loss and device use.
• Workforce pressure: Respondents raised staff shortages, pay differences and burnout, especially in the NHS. They called for stronger training, particularly in tinnitus care, and better collaboration across services.
• Dementia discussion: Respondents wanted balanced, evidence-based information on hearing loss and dementia rather than fear-driven promotion or misleading causal claims.
• Patient concerns: Wax buildup and difficulty understanding speech in background noise were the issues most commonly reported to them.

BIHIMA urges health leaders, policymakers and manufacturers to work toward care that is easier to access, resilient and less stigmatizing.

About the survey and association

BIHIMA surveyed 101 audiologists working in the NHS, private practice or both in the UK and Ireland: 30% worked in the NHS, 59% in private clinics and 11% in both sectors. BIHIMA represents hearing-technology manufacturers in the UK and Ireland and says it works with clinicians, regulators and consumer groups.

Original report: The Hearing Review.