All Adult patients with unilateral or bilateral hearing loss – with or without tinnitus – but no other red flags (see below) should be referred to Audiology opens a new window NOT ENT. Audiology is able to offer otoscopy and pure tone audiometry (PTA).
If there is unilateral tinnitus or presumed inner ear / sensorineural hearing loss, please mark this clearly on the referral so the patient will be seen by an audiologist qualified to send the patient directly for an MRI scan if required. If the audiologist is concerned, they can refer on to ENT.
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss is an ENT emergency.
if the patient presents within 6 weeks of onset urgent treatment could improve the likelihood of their hearing recovering. Please see the Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss page for further detail on referring these patients urgently through the ENT on call team at SJH.
For conductive hearing loss, hearing aids are often recommended prior to considering surgery.
People who already have an NHS hearing aid, can contact the Audiology Department directly without a referral. See Hearing aid opens a new window for more details
C.M. & L.McM 25-03-25
