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Sensory impairment

Hearing impairment

Support is available for people who are

  • deaf
  • hearing impaired
  • deaf/blind.

After an assessment of your needs through Adult Social Care we will create a support plan.

This may identify you need some equipment or further support to maintain your independence.

Adult Social Care are required by law to keep a register of deaf and hearing impaired and deaf blind people.

To be registered hearing impaired, you will need to go to the Audiology Department at Darlington Memorial Hospital for a hearing test. Specsavers can also provide the Audiogram after a person has had a hearing test.  Private companies are able to provide Audiograms if requested.

Your GP will be able to refer you to the Audiology Department at Darlington Memorial Hospital, Specsavers, or other companies.

Registration is voluntary and you do not have to be registered to ask for help with hearing problems. 

However if you register it may help you to qualify for some benefits in the form of exemptions from VAT on certain equipment.

When you visit the Audiology Department, you will be given a form to sign.

There are two boxes on the form - one is the agreement to an assessment by Adult Social Care and the other if you agree to be registered as hearing impaired.

The Audiology Department will then contact Adult Social Care, who will require the Audiogram and send you a Pink registration card and arrange for an assessment of your needs.

Visual impairment

Support is available for people who are

  • blind
  • visually impaired
  • deaf/blind

Following an assessment of your needs through Adult Social Care, a support plan can be put together.

This may identify you need some equipment or further support to maintain your independence.

How to register

If an individual wishes to be added to the hearing impairment register, the individual needs to have a hearing test via Audiology at a hospital, or privately via Specsavers/Boots etc.

The hospital has a DBC form they complete and send to us direct via email or post. If the individual had a private test, they can self-refer for sensory assessments via the first point of contact and enquire about registrations. The company that completed the hearing test would need to send us a copy of their audiogram. Sometimes the individual has a copy themselves that they can provide.

When we receive the form/audiogram a new referral is created for the hearing impairment officer. They will then contact the individual to discuss registration and assess for any aids that can support around their hearing loss.

When registration is discussed and agreed with the hearing impairment officer, the officer will then send a request for the registration and advises what level of hearing loss they are classed and need to be registered as. The registration request is then processed, and the registration card will be posted to the individual.

If the individual wishes to be added to the visual impairment register, they first need to have been issued a Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI) from their Ophthalmologist whom is typically based at a hospital.

The Ophthalmologist or individual would need send a copy to us via post or email. Then the visual impairment officer would contact the individual and discuss if they wish to be added to the visual impairment register.  Once permission from the individual is received, the Occupational Therapy Teams would process the registration and send the registration to the individual. Then the individual is assessed if that was requested at point of registration.  

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