Crisis Hears Homelessness
A record high for the number of households facing homelessness.
An 8% increase on last year means in 2023-2024 over 320,000 people* are impacted by homelessness. With limited access and support to many vital health checks, Specsavers are working with Crisis to help bring accessible health care to all.
Specsavers launched, ‘It’s time to talk about hearing’ in 2024, which brought together new data and insight to get commissioners, policy makers, service providers and professionals talking about hearing. Although everyone is entitled to NHS hearing technology, there are some challenges for people experiencing homelessness, including GP referral, access to regular aftercare and support with repairs. People navigating the homelessness shelter system may also face challenges of keeping a hearing aid clean, dry and charged.
Specsavers are proud to share that with Crisis in 2024 we were able to run 15 clinics across the United Kingdom and create a Crisis at Christmas hub, which saw over 90 checks being completed. Hannah Gregory, Audiologist at Specsavers Haywards Heath, says “I volunteer because I want to help people make sure they've got good ear health, especially if they're worried about it. Just raising awareness is quite important and making sure that people are generally well.
“The difference we can make to someone experiencing homelessness is that if someone has wax in their ears, it’s going to impact the way they're hearing people, and that can be quite disorientating, so ear wax removal can make an instant difference to their wellbeing.
“For some people coming to Crisis is life changing. Tinnitus, a ringing noise in the ear, can be quite common, and being able to share this information with them can be reassuring. Plus, we can check their general ear health, and if needed refer then to additional treatment.”
Homelessness is more prevalent than ever. Our Specsavers report, ‘It’s time to talk about hearing’ brings these issues to the forefront of the audiology industry and asks the questions about what’s next and how things could be improved for the better.
