By Lynda O’Donoghue Donnelly
Despite serving the community for more than three years staff at the Hearing Centre inside Specsavers, Liffey Valley are determined to help more people than ever in 2018.
Although the store has been operating since Specsavers opened at the centre in 2015, staff explained that many people are still unaware that qualified audiologists work with state-of-the-art equipment to help people who are concerned about their hearing.
Audiologist Orla Walsh works closely with the teams at Liffey Valley and the Mill Centre in Clondalkin to ensure that clients get the best possible service – with three-minute screenings available seven days-a-week and full audio consultations for free to anyone over 18.
Orla said: “People can come in for a 3-minute screening or visit one of our mobile vans and if the screening indicates an issue then we bring them in for a one-hour consultation for free. During the process we take a history, they listen to different tones through a headset, we look inside the ear and make sure it is healthy and then we go through the different options with people.
“Historically hearing aids were very obvious and the basic analogue hearing aids simply made everything louder – they just amplified sounds which meant people were uncomfortable in louder settings. Huge leaps and bounds have been made with digital hearing aids. They are very discreet and can even connect to smart phones!”
The team working under Orla in Liffey Valley and Clondalkin are all local and include Danielle Lyons, Olivia Rocha, Steve Dunn and trainee Hear Care assistant Marisa O’Beirne.
Orla said: “The team we have is fantastic, many of the audiologists started out as optical assistants and trained with us for years to specialise in audiology. Everyone is fully trained to a standard that we are incredibly proud of here; the staff are passionate about helping people to hear.”
As part of a bigger company the Hearing Centre is also in a prime position to help drive hearing aid costs down – offering hearing aid packages from €750 with grants for up to 50% of the cost available through PRSI.
Orla also advised that people of any age that are having trouble hearing should book an appointment to be assessed at their local store. She said: “It is important to start treatment early as it can slow down the progression of any hearing loss.”
The Hearing Centre offers free consultations to anyone over 18-years-old and recommends those over 65-years-old attend once every two years.
For more information, or to book an appointment, contact The Hearing Centre, Liffey Valley on 01 6166006.
