The 3Rs of Checking Your Own Hearing is a very easy-to-remember self-check that you can use on a regular basis as an early warning system for any changes in your own hearing. You don't need any special equipment. It's all based on things you'll encounter in every day life.

Local musician, Janet Dietz, explains here how she developed an ear condition in her early 20s that caused her to lose confidence in her ability to perform. But through the efforts, encouragement and expertise of Will Parfitt, one of our hearing aid audiologists here, she has been able do things she thought she'd never again have the chance or confidence to do.

She nominated Will for the 2009 Audiologist of the Year, and he was recognised for his efforts by the independent panel of judges as "highly commended".

We often joke that someone has "selective hearing", meaning they ignore us when it's convenient to them.

But actually, selective hearing is something far more powerful. Its secret lies in the partnership that our ears have with our brain, and harnessing its power can have huge benefits when it comes to listening in challenging situations.

This article explains how.

The most important tool at work is possibly also the most underrated: your sense of hearing. And if you employ people, it’s your staff’s hearing too. In this article we explore how hearing affects your business's effectiveness and what you can do to ensure it isn't compromised.

The latest research shows that we talk an average of 16,000 words a day – and contrary to popular belief, it's about the same for women as it is for men!

So think how many words we hear on a daily basis – and it's not just the conversation we're listening to. It's all those ones we overhear, the ones on the radio and TV... but are we about to miss the best conversation of our lives?

'I have noticed much more difficulty with hearing high frequency pitches and consonants, as the years have gone by, due to an asymmetrical hearing loss; resulting in a particular problem hearing conversations in busy or noisy environments.

The team at Broom Reid & Harris have been very helpful. They identified a new type of hearing aid which is ideal for people in my position. It sits in the ear, but does not go into the ear canal, and it magnifies the sounds I can’t hear to the right level without blocking out those that I can.

I am involved in a lot of local organisations and my new aid means that I can hear conversations without straining – it has made a big difference.

A lot of people put up with bad hearing because they think it is something that just happens, especially as you get older. My advice would be to have a hearing test and, if you need a hearing aid, to be prepared to wear it – it makes all the difference to your quality of life.

Valerie Bacon

Watching TV (including DVDs and Videos) and listening to music is the main activity in the UK after sleep and work. It takes up a huge amount of our time, and it's usually because of the TV that people notice they're not hearing as well as they used to: volume goes up, and friends and family start complaining we have it on too loud.

This article explains why TV listening can be difficult, and how to watch TV at a volume that won't annoy anyone else.

Home Visits are available for:

• Hearing Tests at home
• Confidential Hearing Aid Fittings at home
• Fine Tuning of hearing aids & Rehabilitation at home
• Ongoing maintenance of hearing aids at home
• General support for hearing aid users at home
• To set up asssistive listening devices in situ at home

You would benefit from this service if:

• If confidentiality and privacy are important
• If you are housebound
• If you are disabled
• If you don't have transport
• If you are elderly
• In special circumstances such as farming during lambing season or a parent with young children
• If you are in a nursing home or retirement home
• If you are in hospital
• People in rural areas with limited access to public transport

Eyes checked. Teeth checked. Hearing checked.

Hearing is one of our primary senses. So checking it routinely - whether you notice a problem or not - is as sensible as regular visits to the dentist or optician. As they say: prevention is better than cure!

Here you'll find all the information you need about having your hearing checked.

Most changes in your hearing will be very hard to detect without routine hearing tests. This article explains the four reasons why we miss changes in our own hearing, and why it's important that we catch them as early as possible.