Could You Be Missing the Signs of Vision or Hearing Loss?

You might think you’d notice immediately if your hearing or eyesight began to fade. But this isn’t always the case. Hearing and vision loss can develop so gradually that you don’t realise it’s happening.

Turning the TV up, squinting to read the ingredients on a food packet or having to concentrate a bit harder to hear your companion in a noisy restaurant is often thought of as ‘just getting older.’

Recently, the UK National Eye Health and Hearing Study (UKNEHS) carried out a research project involving more than 500 people over the age of 50. The UKNEHS gave the participants vision and hearing tests. 

They discovered that 36% had undiagnosed glaucoma, a quarter of the participants had a vision impairment in at least one eye and 76% had hearing loss. A huge 81% of the people who took part in the tests said they had never had a hearing test.

If you want to check your vision and heraring, remember that people over 60 can have free eye tests and many opticians also provide free hearing tests

Treating vision and hearing loss is important because it can have a detrimental effect on your wellbeing. Hearing loss in particular effects communication and the desire to socialise can diminish, leading to feelings of loneliness and depression.

What are the Hidden Signs of Hearing Loss?

You may have some hearing loss if you find yourself:

• Turning up the TV or radio
• Not able to follow conversations where there are other people around talking at the same time, like a pub or restaurant
• Asking people to repeat themselves because you haven’t caught everything they have said

What are The Types of Hearing Loss?

There are two main types of hearing loss. Damage to the auditory nerve or to the hair cells inside the inner ear causes Sensorineural hearing loss. This type of hearing loss is due to injury or ageing.

Conductive hearing loss is usually caused by a blockage which stops the sounds passing from your outer ear to your inner ear. A blockage can be caused by ear wax, glue ear, a perforated ear drum or an ear infection that has caused a build up of fluid.

Spotting Changes in Your Vision

You should have an eye test if you have difficulty:

• Reading food labels
• Recognising people in the street
• Reading, knitting or sewing without a bright light

Impaired vision can be caused by cataracts, a detached retina, Age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy. Blurred vision with pain and red eye may be glaucoma.

An eye test can detect whether or not you have high eye pressure which can lead to glaucoma.  Glaucoma can lead to vision loss and because there are no immediate symptoms many people don’t know they are effected until they start to feel pain or experience blurred vision..

How the Pharmacy Can Help

VSM Pharmacy can help with a number of services which help you to take care of your vision and hearing.

Ear Wax Removal

If your hearing loss is due to a build-up of ear wax, our microsuction technique removes earwax quickly and painlessly. We advise that you use olive oil ear drops for three days before your appointment to soften the ear wax. The cost depends on whether you have one ear treated or two.

Microsuction for one ear is £45.00 and for two ears it is £69.99. If the consultation reveals that you don’t have an ear wax blockage, you’ll be charged £15.00 consultation fee.

Ear Infection Treatment

A painful ear with a feeling of fullness and perhaps accompanied by a pus-like discharge means you are likely to have an ear infection.

A consultation at the pharmacy costs £19.90 and includes the provision of antibiotics if they are needed. Usually, ear infections are treated with Cetraxal or Cetraxal Plus which are ear drops containing antibiotics.

Children with earache and adults with acute otitis media can have free NHS treatment at the pharmacy under the Pharmacy First Service. Acute otitis media is an infection of the middle ear and symptoms can also include a high temperature, vomiting and some hearing loss.  

Hearing aid batteries and device support

We stock batteries for a whole range of hearing aids. If you need help or advice about the device you’re wearing come and speak to us and we’ll do our best to help you.

Eye drops

Eye drops can soothe and hydrate, tired, irritated and dry eyes. Most drops can be used throughout the day to relief discomfort. If you’re not sure what type of eye drops you need, have a chat with a member of staff.

Making an Appointment at the Pharmacy

If you want to make an appointment for any treatment available here at the pharmacy you can do so online, by phoning us on 01276 21002 or by popping in and speaking to a member of staff.