Three new Bupa hearing services for Melbourne residents
Three new Bupa hearing services have opened for Melbourne residents to test and manage their hearing health.
Hearing loss affects around 1 in 6 Australians, but seeking help earlier and proactively managing your hearing health can limit a person's hearing damage and improve your quality of life.
The new services in Doncaster, Knox and Eastland expand the number of Bupa Hearing and Optical stores to six in Victoria and are available to everyone, not just Bupa customers. It includes free initial 'hearing health' screenings, detailed hearing assessments conducted by audiologists, and sales of hearing devices and accessories.
Simon Davis, a qualified audiologist and Bupa Audiology Manager, says it is known that it can take a person around seven years from the time they first start to notice a hearing problem to the time they do something about it.
"Humans by nature want to communicate with each other - we are social beings, but hearing loss can impact quality of life and time spent with family, friends, or at work," Mr Davis said.
"Hearing loss is often a little more hidden, unlike eye and other health problems, and traditionally there has been some stigma associated with hearing loss and wearing hearing aids.
"The encouraging thing for people is that modern, digital hearing aids are amazing. They have cutting-edge technology and are aesthetically pleasing - if you can see them at all. Even at entry level, devices have some level of signal processing and noise reduction such as directional microphones, so affordability need not be a major issue. Many are now bluetooth compatable which provides connectivity to listening devices such as phones, computers and MP3 players. For all these reasons people of all ages are feeling far more comfortable wearing hearing aids," he said.
As Simon Davis notes: "They have become an interesting topic of conversation rather than an embarrassing conversation to be avoided."
"The one-stop-shop for eye and ear health makes it simple and easy for people that are increasingly time poor and that is most of us!
"If you've got five minutes, come in and have a free initial hearing screening. If you have a legitimate concern about yourself or someone you know, however, there is no substitute for a proper hearing assessment and consultation," Mr Davis said.
Bupa Hearing offers detailed hearing assessments for both adults and children over the age of five. Bupa Hearing offers a range of hearing aid for sale, fitting services and tinnitus advice for adults aged 26 and over. People under the age of 26 are covered by the Australian Government's Hearing program (Office of Hearing Services). Bupa Hearing is accredited to see eligible pensioners and DVA card holders under this program.
More information, including locating your closest Bupa Optical and Hearing store in Victoria, can be found at: https://hearing.bupa.com.au/
