Mr. Brendan Lennon:

I will address the Chair's question about people putting their hearing aids, on which they may have spent a lot of money, in the drawer.

We mentioned that satisfaction with hearing aids is 80%-plus among users. However, that means 15% to 20% of people maybe do not have great satisfaction and are probably putting them in the drawer or have set them aside. As I mentioned earlier, sometimes that might be because the longer a person delays, the longer it is to habituate to them. I would also say, however, that this is part of a national hearing care plan with appropriate standards and protocols. Prescribing somebody the correct hearing aids and fitting them correctly is important, but it is not the end of the story. As part of the pathway, there need to be at least one or two follow-up checks with people when they get hearing aids, and further checks should be offered for those who struggle. That is a key part of supporting people.

Sometimes people have a complex hearing loss as well. There might be other issues like that. Personality comes into it because perseverance can sometimes be important. People need someone who is, if you like, holding their hand and encouraging and advising them along the way. For example, a simple piece of advice we think many people do not get is that when they are habituating to hearing aids, they should build it up a couple of hours per day, but they should not go to the supermarket or restaurant in the first couple of days because those are the more challenging environments. People will get discouraged and find it difficult. Therefore, we believe that kind of counselling, if you like, and support is often missing for some people, particularly those who are struggling. That is one of the important elements of an appropriate care package, which would mean fewer people will put their hearing aids in the drawer.