Over 1,200 people in Mayo on waiting list for over a year or more for audiology treatment

According to the most recent figures released by the HSE, over 1,206 people in Mayo are on a waiting list for a year or more for audiology treatment. 

Ireland's leading Deaf and Hard of Hearing charity Chime has condemned the figures, saying these "shocking" delays reveal a "dysfunctional" system as there is evidence of even a three year delay for audiology services in some parts of Ireland. 

There has been an increase in the need for these services in recent years as in 2020 over 20,000 people were on the waiting list and 26,500 people just last year. Almost half of those on these waiting lists are children. 

Chime has called for the Department of Health to introduce some form of audiology waiting list initiative immediately to cope with the extensive delays in delivering treatment. The organisation has urged the HSE to consider using private sector providers to help reduce waiting times and to eliminate duplication and a waste of services. 

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Commenting on the importance of the matter, Chime CEO Mark Byrne said: "Undiagnosed hearing loss amongst children can lead to significant challenges, including speech and language delay, learning difficulties, and social isolation. Among adults, there is a strong link between hearing loss and the early onset of dementia, but someone who is 82 may be 85 by the time they get an audiology referral appointment.

"The World Health Organisation has pointed out that early intervention actually saves governments money in reduced health care costs."

The charity said that many people with undiagnosed hearing difficulties are forced to go to private providers and from there avail of the Department of Social Protection's Treatment Benefit Scheme.

Chime has called on the Health Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeil, to ensure the working group established by the previous government finalises a National Hearing Care Plan. 

The Chime CEO said that the latest figures are shocking and the situation continues to deteriorate, emphasising his concern about the growing number of undiagnosed cases of hearing loss in children. 

Sharing an example of someone impacted by these waiting lists, an audiologist with Chime, Sinead Dolan, said that one woman in the midlands was directed to the charity after waiting 12 months for an appointment with the HSE. With Chime, the woman was provided with hearing aids under the Treatment Benefit Scheme. 

The audiologist said: "She became increasingly isolated and frustrated by her hearing loss during that time. She feels her life is transformed, but she should not have had to wait for a year."