Frequently Asked Questions

If your baby has been referred from the newborn hearing screen, you will automatically receive an appointment.

If you have concerns about your child’s hearing you can go to your family doctor or health visitor and ask them to refer your child for a hearing test.

If you are new to the area and your child has a known hearing loss and wears hearing aids, you should ask for your family doctor to refer to us so that we can continue to monitor your child’s hearing and progress with hearing aids.

You will be offered an appointment for your child within six weeks of us receiving the referral.  We aim to find out what your child can hear as quickly as possible. Often we can do this in just one appointment but sometimes it takes a number of appointments before we can get all the information we need.

At the first appointment we will test your child’s hearing. We will explain the results with you and talk about what they mean for your child and their development.

If your child has a hearing loss we will talk about the options that are available and how they can help. We will then agree the next step with you and set a care plan. This will include your child’s specific needs and what we have agreed to do to address them. Sometimes we can decide to monitor your child’s hearing and progress. Sometimes we need to do something to help your child hear better and this can include having a small operation (grommets) or wearing a hearing aid. We may also talk about using sign language to help your child communicate. The options available will depend on your child and the cause of the hearing loss.

You will always receive a letter after your appointment with us. This summarises what you told us at the appointment, the test results and what they mean and the plan that we agreed for you and your child. We copy this letter to your family doctor, your health visitor or your child’s school nurse and to any other people your child sees.

We offer appointments at both Manchester Royal Infirmary and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. If you receive an appointment from us, it is important to check the appointment letter for details of where the appointment is.

It is always best to try and make alternative arrangements for your child’s siblings.  To test the hearing we need the test room to be very quiet and to have as few distractions as possible.  If you cannot arrange for anyone to look after your other children we will try our best to ensure everything runs smoothly.

If you child is unwell, please phone the department and let us know as early as possible.  We can then change the date of the appointment for you.

If your child has a hearing loss we will discuss the best ways to help your child with their hearing.  We will also carry out further testing as needed to get as much information as possible about your child’s hearing.