Public asked to help locate lost hearing aids
The public are being asked to help reunite lost hearing aids with their owners following a rise in the number of hearing aids being lost during the pandemic.
Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a large increase in the number of NHS hearing aid wearers reporting lost aids. Many people have reported that their hearing aid has been lost as they remove their COVID-19 face covering.
Samantha Batty, Head of Audiology and Balance Services for NHS Tayside said, “A number of patients have contacted us as they have lost their hearing aids when removing their face covering. This could be outside shops, when they get off the bus, outside hospitals and so on. So far in September we have replaced 159 lost aids with 849 being replaced since April, each with a cost attached for NHS Tayside.
“All NHS hearing aids are traceable as they have a serial number which can be tracked back to the user, so that if found they can be returned to the correct patient. I would ask any member of the public that finds a hearing aid to return it to us. I would also ask anyone who has unused NHS hearing aids at home to return them to us.
“All NHS hearing aid users are advised to take particular care as they remove any face coverings to help prevent losing their hearing aid and the inconvenience this causes patients.”
Hearing aids should be returned by Freepost to:
Audiology Department
Tayside NHS Board
Freepost SC0 6181
Dundee
DD3 8ZR