Boots Hearingcare - Islington Avis 

One of my hearing aids stopped working (I’ve had it for about 20 months). The first time I went to boots in Islington they repaired it but it stopped working again a few days later. When I tried to book an appointment to get it fixed I was told I’d have to wait 2 weeks. There was no capacity to book an emergency appointment, only standard 15 minute appointments were available. When I finally was seen I explained how my hearing aid needed to be replaced and was told “you should have spoken to head office so they could provide you with a replacement”. Nobody told me this prior to the appointment. I was told that my broken hearing aid would have to be sent away to be assessed by the manufacturer and it could take 2 or more weeks. In the meantime I will be without a hearing aid. This will severely limit my quality of life. No apology was made for this miscommunication. By the time I get a replacement I will have been without a hearing aid for 4 weeks (maybe more). This is unacceptable. Given the amount of money I’ve paid (in excess of £3000) why should I have to put up with this level of service?

My experience with the audiology was a good one, everything was explained clearly, and all my questions were answered in a way that made the procedure easy to understand,
Feeling satisfied with my experience.

Staff member put me completely at ease and explained everything in great detail and even wrote things down for me in case I forgot. Hearing aid is working nicely and it's good to be able to hear clearly again.

5 * to the consultant, she was open and helpful through the whole process, building both my wife and I to what she felt was the best solution.
My issue is the lack of transparency on pricing discounts etc which is clearly a central policy

I turned up for my 2-yearly free hearing test and the audiologist told me I had wax in my ears and active ear discharge. I asked if she could remove the wax but Boots Islington does not have ear suction equipment. She referred me to my GP for treatment for the ear discharge and removal of ear wax. My GP was not able to see me until mid-January. So I decided to see a private company, Clear Earwax, in Waterloo, the same day. The audiologist found wax, which he removed using suction equipment, and no evidence of ear discharge or infection.

All Boots Hearingcare centres should have ear suction equipment available (impacted wax is one of the most common causes of hearing problems). I am also concerned about the training and supervision provided for audiologists working for Boots Hearingcare. Making a wrong diagnosis of an ear infection is not a clinical disaster but it resulted in me paying £55 to Clear Earwax and wasted time for both me and for my GP practice.

In future I won't be booking my audiogram at Boots Islington and would advice others to use Boots Hearing care branches that have earwax suction equipment.

Everything was clearly explained. Options were offered and explained. Boots hearing staff was very calm, polite and made me feel at ease.