Children and young people with a hearing impairment

The following services and facilities are available at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) for children and young people with hearing impairment. Please let us know whether your child has any additional needs in advance so that we can make preparations. Telephone the number on your admission or appointment letter to tell us.

Hearing impairment is usually caused by a problem either with how sound travels through the ear to the auditory nerve (hearing loss or deafness) or how sound is interpreted by the brain (auditory processing).

Many of our children and young people have some degree of hearing impairment and services that offer support include:

Audiology - Audiological medicine is a medical speciality providing diagnosis and management of patients with disorders of hearing and balance. Hearing problems also include tinnitus and auditory processing disorders. A range of technology is used to assist patients with hearing deficits including digital hearing aids, bone anchored hearing aids, cochlear implants and vibrotactile aids. For further details about the service, please visit their website or call them on 020 7813 8430.

Cochlear Implant programme – The programme consists of a multidisciplinary team that accepts referrals for children with congenital (present at birth) or acquired hearing losses which are within the severe/profound categories. The CIP team is comprised of audiologists, speech and language therapists, psychologists, teachers of the deaf, a hearing therapist and the administrative team. From the outset, the programme has accepted referrals of children with additional needs and has built up expertise in this area. Further information, including a list of helpful resources can be found on the GOSH website or by telephoning 020 7813 8316.

Note: Inclusion in this list does not constitute endorsement by GOSH. For details of other support organisations, please visit the Contact a Family website or call their helpline on 0808 808 3555.

Action on Hearing Loss – formerly known as the Royal National Institute for Deaf People – offers support and advice to anyone affected by hearing loss. For further details, visit their website or call their information helpline on 0808 808 0123 (textphone 0808 808 9000 or SMS 0780 0000 360).

The National Deaf Children’s Society is the main organisation in the UK supporting children and families affected by hearing impairment. Their information line at 0808 800 8880 is accessible by voice and text. Some sections of their website you can browse but you may need to register for free to access some information and publications.