The role of the Audiology Team is to assess and manage children and adults with disorders associated with their ear, including hearing loss, tinnitus, hyperacusis and certain balance issues. Medical issues associated with the ear are managed by the Ear, Nose and Throat Medical and Nursing Team.
The NHS Fife Hearing Services team provides adult and child hearing services. These services offer specialist hearing assessment and follow up-fitting services. The team evaluates progress and supports the ongoing maintenance of NHS digital hearing aids.
Hearing difficulties are not always obvious. For example, children can have different degrees and types of hearing impairment. Although a child may respond to certain sounds around the home, they may not be able to hear everything, such as a key in a lock, creaking floorboards, or a door opening. Issues must be identified as early as possible to prevent any effect on a child's ability to develop good speech and language skills and to provide support and information to the child and their parent. All newborns in Scotland are offered a hearing screening test. If this test is clear it is unlikely there will be hearing loss that will significantly affect the development of speech and language.
In adults, hearing loss, or difficulty with hearing in noisy situations, can limit a person's social and work activities. Adults with hearing loss often first notice a problem when struggling to hear in group situations, in environments with a lot of background noise, or on the telephone. The adult audiology team aims to actively involve adults in decisions on managing their hearing loss to help improve quality of life.
Referral routes
Hearing Assessment: If you are concerned about your child’s hearing, please speak to your General Practitioner (GP), Health Visitor or Speech and Language Therapist who can arrange a referral to the Audiology Team. If you are concerned about your own hearing, please speak to your GP who can arrange a referral to the Audiology Team. Hearing Aid Management: If you wear an NHS hearing aid you can contact the department direct if you require support.
Location
Adult Audiology Clinics
Hearing Aid Maintenance Clinics Lynebank Hospital, Dunfermline and Victoria Hospitals Monday to Friday 9.00am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 4.00pm
Hearing Aid Maintenance Clinic St Andrews Community Hospital are available Wednesday only 9.00am to 11.30am
Hearing Aid Maintenance Clinic Adamson Hospital, Cupar Wednesday only 1.00pm to 4.30pm
Hearing Aid Maintenance Clinic Randolph Wemyss Memorial Hospital, Methil 9.00am to 12.30pm
Opening Hours
Opening times days and times vary depending on location . All visits to the Audiology Clinic, including Hearing Aid Maintenance Clinics are by appointment only, no walk in service available.
To arrange an appointment, please contact the Audiology Hub on: Tel: 01592 643355 ext 28355 e-mail: audiology.fife2@nhs.scot
Audiology Clinic
Victoria Hospital, Hayfield Road, Kirkcaldy, KY2 5AH
If you require this information in a community language or alternative format e.g. Braille, audio, large print, BSL, Easy Read please contact the Equality and Human Rights Team at: email: fife.EqualityandHumanRights@nhs.scot or phone 01592 729130. For people with a hearing or verbal impairment you can also contact the team via the NHS Fife SMS text service number on 07805800005.
