According to Action on Hearing Loss's 'Under Pressure' report in January 2015, there are currently 10m people in the UK with hearing loss. Nearly three-quarters of these are over 70 years of age. The total number of people with hearing loss is expected to rise to 14.5m by 2031.

Hearing loss can have a profound impact on a person's health, wellbeing and overall quality of life. It can affect communication, social skills, mental and physical health and the ability to work, yet it takes people, on average, 10 years to seek help. €Every level of hearing loss can benefit from hearing aids,€ says Louise Hart from the charity.

€The earlier people are fitted with a hearing aid when they have a hearing loss, the better the long-term outcome. When we are younger, our brain is more adaptive and better able to cope with competing information. As we get older, this becomes harder €“ so getting hearing aids sooner enables us to cope better in these environments.€

Hearing aids may vary in their appearance but all work in a similar way. They have a built-in microphone that picks up sound, which is processed electronically. The resulting 'signals' are then passed to a receiver, where they are converted back into louder sounds that the wearer can hear.

Analogue aids amplify electronic signals, while digital aids use a tiny computer to process sound. Many digital aids can be programmed for quiet or loud environments, with some switching settings automatically.

Cochlear implants

Cochlear implants are small hearing devices that are surgically placed under the skin. €These are aimed at people with severe to profound hearing loss who don't get any benefit from hearing aids and those who have suddenly lost all their hearing,€ says Louise Hart.

€Any person of any age is eligible. The youngest child in the UK fitted with cochlear implants was three months old and the oldest adult was 99 years of age. The sound from a cochlear implant is very similar to the voice of a Dalek, completely different to any previous amplified sound, so the brain has to be trained to understand what it is hearing.€

Encouraging compliance

According to Action on Hearing Loss, one in 10 adults would benefit from wearing hearing aids €“ 4m people €“ yet only one person in 30 actually wears one. €There is still a great deal of stigma attached to having a hearing aid,€ says Louise Hart.

€Many people see them as a sign of growing old or, alternatively, they remember the large bulky whistling hearing aids of old. Modern hearing aids are digital, much smaller and more effective in many situations.

"Whistling can still occasionally be problem, but this is often due to excessive wax, putting the aid in incorrectly or the tube/mould/aid has become loose and needs replacing.€

Pharmacists are ideally placed to discuss hearing loss with customers and should be able to advise on hearing aid maintenance. Products related to hearing loss should be stocked, says Hart, including wipes for hearing aids, hearing aid cleaning tools and batteries.