Repairs/ Maintenance

If your hearing aid needs repairing you can;

1. Follow the trouble shooting advice available via the link below;
Hearing aid troubleshooting guide document

There are also some useful videos on the C2Hear website which may be able to help you here. 

2. Attend one of our pre-booked repair sessions at James Paget University Hospital
Face to face appointments to see an Audiologist are available daily, these appointments are 15 minutes in duration. Please phone 01493 452354 to make an appointment.
Please do not attend without an appointment.
If you have lost your hearing aid please note there may be a charge, the Audiologist will discuss this with you at your appointment.

3. Send the hearing aid for repair by post
You can post your hearing aid to us and we will repair it for you and post it back; however in some cases such as a whistling hearing aid or a broken ear mould you may still be required to attend the clinic and see an audiologist. If this is the case we will phone you to give further advice.
To help us repair your hearing aid as quickly as possible please post us the complete hearing aid in its box (or well packaged), your brown hearing aid record book and a return self-addressed stamped return envelope (including large letter stamp). You also need to include this form (also available below - please print and complete this and include it when sending your hearing aid to us.) If you do not have access to a printer please send a note explaining the reason for sending the hearing aid to us.

Please address postal repairs to:
Audiology Department
James Paget University Hospital
Lowestoft Road
Gorleston
Great Yarmouth
NR31 6LA

4. Drop the hearing aid off to be repaired
You can drop your hearing aid off at the Audiology department reception desk and leave it with us to be repaired. We will repair the hearing aid then post it back or phone you to let you know when it is ready to collect; however in some cases such as a whistling hearing aid or a broken ear mould you may still be required to attend the clinic and see an audiologist. If this is the case we will phone you to give further advice.
To help us repair your hearing aid as quickly as possible please include the complete hearing aid ideally in its box and your brown hearing aid record book. If you would like your hearing aid returned to you by post please include a self-addressed stamped return envelope (including large letter stamp).

You also need to include this form (also available below - please print and complete this and include it when dropping your hearing aid to us.) If you do not have access to a printer please send a note explaining the reason for sending the hearing aid to us. 

5. Attend one of the local open access repair sessions in the community
Basic repair/maintenance sessions are run in the community by volunteers from local charities. These sessions may be closer to your home or easier to access than the hospital. For these sessions you do not need to make an appointment unless stated on the individual charities timetables, you will be seen on a first come first served basis.
At these sessions the volunteers are able to issue hearing aid batteries and retube ear moulds, please note they are unable to repair or replace faulty hearing aids. If you think you have a faulty hearing aid or your problem is more complex then please contact James Paget University Hospital for further advice or to book an appointment to see an Audiologist by phoning 01493 452354.
Details of the dates and times of the local repair/maintenance sessions are available from the charities that run the sessions, details can be found on their websites below; 

Suffolk Hearing Advisory Service 

Norfolk Deaf Association

Hearing Aid Maintenance 

Batteries
When collecting batteries please take your brown hearing aid record book with you, this will be signed and dated by a member of staff. Batteries will not be issued without your brown book. Two packs of batteries per hearing aid will be issued and you can expect this supply to last you around four months. There is no need to collect them more often than this and you may be refused batteries if you do so. A friend or relative can collect batteries on your behalf as long as they have your brown hearing aid record book.
Batteries can be collected from the following locations;

If you have no other way of collecting batteries we can post them to you. Please post your brown hearing aid record book, a note asking us to send batteries and a self-addressed stamped envelope to the following address;

Audiology Department
James Paget University Hospital
Lowestoft Road
Gorleston
Great Yarmouth
NR31 6LA

Please dispose of used hearing aid batteries in battery recycling bins found in many places such as supermarkets. Battery recycling bins are also available at the James Paget University Hospital at the main reception desk at the front of the hospital and in the Audiology department waiting room.

Hearing Aid Battery Safety

It is dangerous for anyone to swallow a battery or for batteries to be put in places such as noses or ears.  Make sure you do the following;

• Store batteries in a safe place, out of the reach of children, adults with vision or cognitive difficulties or pets
• Leave your hearing aid in a safe place when it is not in use
• Dispose of used batteries carefully in a battery recycling bin
• Try not to let young children or adults with cognitive difficulties see batteries being changed. It is safer if they do not know that the battery compartment opens.

Hearing aids can also be “tamperproof”. This means that it can be set up so that the battery compartment cannot be opened easily without the use of a tool. If you think it would be useful to be able to lock the battery drawer of your hearing aid please ask your Audiologist. 

If you think a hearing aid battery has been swallowed you must seek IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION at your nearest Accident and Emergency Department.  If you think your pet has swallowed a hearing aid battery, please contact your vet immediately. 

General hearing aid maintenance 

Re-tubing

We recommend a hearing aid is ‘re-tubed’ at least once a year, you can have this done by attending one of the local open access repair clinics in the community (see details above) or by making an appointment to attend the Audiology department at the James Paget University Hospital  by phoning 01493 452354.

If you are happy to re-tube the hearing aid yourself you can follow the guide in the document below or watch the useful video available here https://c2hearonline.com/custom_mould/retubing.html 

Tubing is available to collect at all the battery collection points (please see details above). Please note there are various sizes, a tube too narrow will slip out of the earpiece and a tube too thick may split your earpiece. If you do not know which size tube you require please attend an appointment and ask.

Cleaning
The hearing aid should never get wet however the earpiece should be wiped after every use using a damp tissue or wet wipe. Take care to check the end of the hole in the earpiece after every use to check for wax, the eye of a needle or a pin can be used to remove any wax before it works it way further up the tube. The earpiece can also be cleaned thoroughly following the instructions below or watching a video available at https://c2hearonline.com/custom_mould/hearing_aid_care.html