Children forced to wait five years for hearing aids

CHILDREN with hearing problems are having to wait five years to have a hearing aid fitted — almost 10 times longer than children in Britain, a report reveals.

Children with a profound hearing loss are having to wait two years on average, almost six times longer than those in Britain.

The waiting times are in the HSE’s national audiology review, which admits access to good audiological assessment and intervention is patchy at best and non-existent in some areas.