Children's Audiology Team

We see all children across the Wigan and Leigh borough from being a newborn until 19 years of age if in further education

Newborn Hearing Screening

All babies born in the Wigan borough are offered a hearing screening test. This usually takes place in the maternity unit of the hospital prior to discharge. However, if the test has not been completed while you are in hospital, or if your baby is born at home, we will offer a screening appointment in one of our clinics across the borough. If your baby does not have a clear response to this test, they are referred to the Children’s Audiology Service for further testing.

School Hearing Screening

All children attending mainstream schools in the Wigan borough are offered a hearing screening test in Year 1. The first screening test is carried out in school out by a member of the School Nursing Team. If your child does not pass this test, they are seen again in school by an Audiology Assistant.  If your child does not pass the second test, they are referred to the Children’s Audiology Service for further testing.

Children’s Audiology Service

The Children’s Audiology Service provides diagnostic hearing assessments for babies, children and young people where there is a concern about their hearing. This may have been identified through the Newborn Hearing Screening Service or the School Screening Service. We also accept referrals from parents/carers and professionals.

Following the assessment, we will discuss the results with you and agree a care plan. Some children may be offered hearing aids, which we will fit and monitor so that changes can be made as required.

We are committed to providing a holistic approach to care and listen to what is important to you and your child.

The Children’s Audiology team includes:

• Consultant Audiovestibular Physician
• Audiologists
• Assistants

We also work closely with professionals in other services to provide an integrated approach. Our partners include:

• ENT Colleagues
• Teachers of the Deaf
• Speech and Language Therapists
• Health Visitors
• School Nurses

We are also actively involved in the Children’s Hearing Services Working Group (CHSWG) for Wigan and Leigh that supports services to work together to provide the best care possible.

The Children’s Audiology Service is offered to babies, children and young people who live in the Wigan borough or are registered with a General Practice in the area, where there is a concern about hearing or a known hearing loss.

The Children’s Audiology admin team is based at Platt Bridge Health Centre. Please find information for each of our audiology clinics below. Please note all hearing aid related appointments can only be completed at either Platt Bridge Health Centre, Leigh Health Centre or Worsely Menses Health Centre. 

Platt Bridge Health Centre

Rivington Avenue

Platt Bridge

Wigan WN2 5NG

Free parking (the car park can get very busy)

Public transport: Travel by bus number 9 from Wigan Bus Station, Market Street, Wigan to Albion Street (Stop B) and then a 5-minute walk to Platt Bridge Health Centre. (Subject to change, please refer to Bee Network for bus routes).

Toilets: 1st floor at the bottom of the corridor or alternatively, there are some toilets available on the ground floor.

Lifts: available on the ground floor

The audiology test room is found on the 1st floor. Lifts are available. Please report to Children’s Therapy and Audiology Reception. If reception is closed and you have an appointment, You will then be asked to wait in the waiting area until your child is called for their appointment. The waiting area has a limited toys/games available for children.

Please see below, pictures of the test room at Platt Bridge Health Centre.

Boston House

Frog Lane

Wigan

WN6 7LB

Free parking (the car park can get very busy)

Public transport: Boston House (Wigan Health Centre) is around a 6-minute walk from Wigan Bus Station, it is situated on Frog Lane, just past the Deanery High School. (Subject to change, please refer to Bee Network for bus routes).

Toilets: Near the main entrance or next to the clinic room. 

Please use Zone A entrance and report to Community Reception. You will then be asked to wait in the waiting area until your child is called for their appointment. 

Please see below, pictures of the test room at Wigan Health Centre

Worsley Menses Health Centre

Chandler House

Pool stock lane

Wigan

WN3 5HL

Free parking (car park gets very busy)

Public transport: First Bus Service 610, 631 or 632. The bus will pass a pub called the Eckersley Arms on the right, with a bus stop soon after. Get off at the stop after this. You should get off the bus just before the Tipping Arms pub on the right hand side just after the bridge on Poolstock Lane. (Subject to change, please refer to Bee Network for bus routes).

Toilets: There is a disable toilet in the waiting area/next to clinic corridor entrance. 

Lifts: available on the ground floor and the first floor

Worsley Mesnes Health Centre is down a side street called Fairbrother Avenue just off Poolstock Lane near Worsely Mesnes Social Club.

The audiology test room is on the second floor. Please report to Community Reception on the first floor. You will then be asked to wait in the waiting area until your child is called for their appointment. 

Please see below, pictures of the test room at Worsley Menses Health Centre, Chandler House

Leigh Health Centre

The Avenue

Leigh

WN7 1HR

Cash only car park (can get very busy)

The car park for Leigh Health Centre is around the back of the health centre. Take a right at the mini roundabout and follow the road around to where you will find the car park. You will need to take a ticket to pass the barrier and pay at the machine inside. 

Public transport: travel by bus number 9 from Wigan Bus Station, Market Street, Wigan to Leigh Health Centre. The health centre is approximately a 10 minute walk from Leigh bus station. (Subject to change, please refer to Bee Network for bus routes).

Toilets: are in the waiting area or on clinic room corridor.

Lifts: available on the ground floor.

The audiology test room is on the first floor. Please report to Community Reception. You will then be asked to wait in the waiting area until your child is called for their appointment. 

Please see below, pictures of the test room at Leigh Health Centre

The Children’s Audiology Service is free at the point of care.

All referrals are considered by an audiologist before being accepted for assessment. Any referral that cannot be accepted is sent back to the referrer with an explanation or requesting additional information so that the referral can be reconsidered.

Once a referral is received and accepted, parents/carers will be sent a letter asking them to phone the department to make a convenient appointment at a range of locations (See section ‘where we work’).

If parents/carers do not respond within 10 working days to our letter, the child is discharged from our service.

All children are seen for an initial assessment within 6 weeks of receiving the referral.

Making a referral - We have an open referral system. Anyone can refer to the audiology service including parents/carers.

Referrals from parents/carers - If you would like to refer your own child to the audiology service, please use our self referral form. Alternatively, you can phone 0300707 1459 to make a referral over the phone.

Referrals from professionals - If you are a professional, you must gain consent from the parents/carers prior to making the referral. Professionals must use the service professionals referral form.
Referrals should be sent electronically to: wwl-tr.childrenshearing@nhs.net

All our Audiology test rooms all look quite similar, but there are some slight differences between them. All our rooms are soundproofed, and they can feel a little strange if you’re not used to them. The rooms have soft furnishings on the walls and a soft carpet. The rooms are all either suspended from the ceiling or they have springs at the base, so they can feel unusual to walk on. When you’re in the room, there is no natural echo, which you would hear in most other surroundings. We have two doors at the entrance to each room, to aid soundproofing.

SMS (text) reminders are sent out 3 days before your appointment and the day before your appointment.

Hearing Assessment:
There may be one or two clinicians present for hearing tests.

Due to the type of testing we will be doing, we kindly request that any siblings do not attend appointments with you as we will need periods of silence in in order to complete testing. We realise that this is not always possible and we will do our best to complete testing in these circumstances.

The hearing test which we will complete will depend on the age and developmental stage of your child. The four most common types of testing we do are:

• Distraction testing: where the child turns to sounds presented from behind.
• Visual Reinforcement audiometry: where the child turns to a sound from a speaker to look for a picture or a toy.
• Performance testing: Where sounds are presented from a speaker (without headphones) and the child is instructed to move a toy in response to sounds
• Pure tone audiometry: Where the child wears headphones and we ask the child to press a button or move a toy in response to the sounds.

We may also examine your child’s ears (otoscopy) and perform a test for middle ear function which shows how the eardrums are moving (tympanometry).

Please see ‘Children’s Audiology Appointment Information letter’ in resources section.

ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response testing) Assessment:
There may be one or two clinicians present for your appointment.

ABR appointments may take up to 1½ hours and the child may need to be asleep for the assessment. Please bring anything which may help to settle your child e.g. feed / nappy change. There is a changing station in the clinic room if needed. If your child cannot settle during the appointment, it may be necessary to re-book the appointment.

Due to the type of testing we will be doing, we kindly request that any siblings do not attend appointments with you as we will need periods of silence in in order to complete testing. We realise that this is not always possible and we will do our best to complete testing in these circumstances.

The ABR test measures a child’s hearing through small sensors placed on the head and behind the ears. In order to place the sensors in position, we may need to lightly exfoliate the baby’s skin. The testing can take some time especially if the child is unsettled.

Below is an image of the test room

Hearing Aid Clinics:
Children with hearing aids will have regular reviews with audiology where we will examine the child’s ears, perform hearing tests and check your child’s hearing aids are working well to specification.

Due to the type of testing we will be doing, we kindly request that any siblings do not attend appointments with you as we will need periods of silence in in order to complete testing. We realise that this is not always possible and we will do our best to complete testing in these circumstances.

In order for the best possible outcome, we also now request you to contact the service at least two weeks prior to your appointment if you feel your child may need new earmoulds or if you feel your child may need to have their ears checked due to previous problems with wax or very frequent ear infections. To be able to complete all necessary tests, we need good fitting earmoulds and for the ears to be free from too much wax/ear infections.

Impression appointments:

Some children may have appointments made for impressions for hearing aid earmoulds or for swim plugs. In order for the impression to be taken, the ears must be fairly clear of wax and have no current ear infections. The procedure will be explained in full at your clinic appointment.

All children who have completed a hearing assessment and have been found to have satisfactory hearing, will be referred to the care of their GP.

Young adults with hearing aids are supported to make the transition to the adult audiology service around the age of 18-19 years. We provide written information and offer transition clinics within the children’s/ adult audiology department, which are jointly delivered by audiologists from the child and adult teams. This enables the young person to form a connection with the adult service before they leave our care.

Adult Audiology team details:

Audiology Department,

Thomas Linacre Centre,

Parsons Walk,

Wigan

WN1 1RU

Email: audiology@wwl.nhs.uk

Telephone (Appointments): 01942 774667

Website: www.wwl.nhs

Post:

Children’s Audiology

Platt Bridge Health Centre
Rivington Avenue
Platt Bridge
Wigan
WN2 5NG

Telephone number:  0300 707 1459 / 0300 707 1458 / 0300 707 1457

Email:  wwl-tr.childrenshearing@nhs.net

Please find further information using this link, about services and support available for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the Wigan borough - SEND Local Offer for Wigan Council.

Children's Audiology Patient Information Leaflets