“I put off a hearing test for four years because I thought I would be sold something. Alan spent an hour, showed me the sheet, and said 'not yet, come back in two years'. No charge. I will go back, and I have sent my sister.”
Margaret H. ·
Hear the
room again.
An independent hearing practice on Market Place, Kingsmere, since 2009. Free full hearing test if you are 50 or over, hearing aids from every maker fitted with real-ear measurement and four years of aftercare, wax removed within three days, and a tinnitus clinic. A 60-day money-back promise on every pair.
4.9 from 190 Google reviewsHearing tests within a week; wax removal within three daysFree hearing tests this week
Real-ear measurement on every fitting; 91% of pairs kept after the 60-day promise
The test is free from 50, the prices are on the wall, and nobody here is paid on sales
Independent since 2009: every maker, four levels, four years of aftercare with the same faces
Two minutes, no headphones
Not sure what
to book?
Six plain questions about everyday life, two minutes, no headphones. At the end you get one honest suggestion: the free test, wax removal, the tinnitus clinic, a check of the aids you have, a home visit, or a doctor. This is not a hearing test; it tells you which appointment to book, and it costs nothing.
Check your hearing online
Two minutes. No headphones.
Question 1 of 6
Which of these sounds like you?
Pick the one that happens most. There is no wrong answer.
Not sure? Ring 01632 960500 and we will work it out with you.
Hearing tests
What happens at
a free test
A full hour with an audiologist: what you can hear, what you are missing, and what would help. Free if you are 50 or over or thinking about hearing aids.
Your first hearing test
Free
Free if you are 50 or over, or considering hearing aids. Otherwise £65.
60 minutes · Within a week; same day if your hearing changed suddenly
- A chat about where hearing is hard, then a look in your ears on the screen
- The quiet booth: tones, each ear, each pitch; then words against noise
- Your results on one sheet, in plain words and large print, to take home
- A straight answer: aids would help, or not yet
- A listen to a pair in the room if you want one, no decision needed
- Bring a relative or friend; a familiar voice is the best thing to test with
If your ears feel blocked, book wax removal first so the test is accurate; Sandra will ask. Under 50 and not thinking about aids: £65. Hearing tests at home are £95 including travel.
You ring Sandra, or do the online check5 minutes
Tell her what is hard: the television, the family table, the phone, a blocked ear. She books the right appointment within the week, sends a large-print confirmation, and speaks to a relative if you would rather she did. Not sure what you need? That is her job.
The hour: your hearing, explained60 minutes
The orange door, level from the pavement. A chat, a look in your ears on the screen, the quiet booth, and words against noise. Then your results on one sheet, in plain words and large print, and a straight answer about what would help. Free if you are 50 or over.
Hearing a pair, no decision needed20 minutes
If aids would help, you listen to a pair in the room that day, with your own companion's voice. Style, level and price chosen with you from the list on the wall. Go home and think; or take a trial pair for two weeks.
The fitting, real-ear measured90 minutes
About nine days later. A thin tube beside the aid measures what reaches your eardrum and we adjust until it matches your prescription. Then the basics, slowly: in, out, charging, the phone, written down in large print. Your 60 days begin.
Weeks two and six20 minutes each
The two-week visit brings the aids up to full volume and fixes the rooms on your list. Six weeks is when most people have stopped noticing them. As many visits as you need in the first three months, and remote adjustments between.
Four years of the same faces4 years
Cleaning whenever you pass, Tuesday drop-in with Jenny, a yearly hearing test and re-tune, loan aids while yours are repaired, a phone call from Sandra when your review is due. Then, when the time comes, the full price towards a new pair if your hearing has moved beyond the old ones.
Hearing aids
Hearing aid styles
and levels, compared
Two decisions, made plainly. The style is about your ear, your hands and how visible you mind it being. The technology level is about the rooms you need to hear in. Every style comes at every level, and the price is by level, so choose the style you like. Everything below is a pair, fitted, with four years of aftercare.
Fitted about nine days after your test · from £1,495 a pair
The style: about your ear and your hands
The level: about the rooms you need to hear in
How you would like to be looked after
The 60-day promise
60-day money-back promise on every pair, no restocking fee. Maker's warranty of two or three years (four on Premium care). Aftercare appointments for four years. If your hearing changes within the four years and the aids can no longer be set to it, we put the full price towards a new pair.
Or the NHS
Hearing aids on the NHS cost nothing. If the NHS route would suit you just as well, we say so and write to your GP.
Makers we fit: Phonak, Oticon, Signia, Widex, Starkey, ReSound, Unitron.
Your pair
Receiver-in-canal (RIC), Standard level, Complete care
£2,490
a pair, fitted, with four years of aftercare
- Standard level
- £2,295
- Receiver-in-canal (RIC)
- included
- Complete care
- + £195
Or by the month
£93 a month
£249 deposit, then 24 payments at 0%.
One ear only? About 55% of the pair price at any level.
Demonstration prices for this template.
Independent, so every maker
We fit the main seven makers and are tied to none. The price is by technology level, not by brand, so we choose what suits your ears.
Real-ear measured, every time
Twenty extra minutes with a probe tube in your ear canal, so the aid delivers your prescription in your ear, not an average one.
60 days to be sure
Wear them everywhere for 60 days. If they are not right, bring them back for a full refund, whatever the reason.
Four years, the same faces
Every follow-up, every clean, every yearly re-tune for four years, with Alan, Priya or Tom, not a call centre.
Wax removal
Blocked ears,
cleared gently
Microsuction under a microscope by our ear care nurse or an audiologist. Gentle, dry, usually done in twenty minutes. No syringing.
Price
From £75
Both ears £75, one ear £55; £25 if there is no wax to remove
Seen
Within three days, often the same day
30 minutes
“Olive oil for three days, then twenty minutes with me. It is the most grateful job in the building.”Helen Dawes, ear care nurse
Tinnitus
Ringing that will
not leave
you alone
Ringing, buzzing or hissing that will not leave you alone. A 75-minute consultation that explains it, measures it and gives you a plan that works.
Price
From £120
Follow-up at 3 months £60
Seen
Within two weeks
75 minutes
1,100+
tinnitus consultations
78%
less intrusive at 3 months
8 years
in the NHS first
“I will not promise to make it go away. I will promise you will mind it less, and I can show you the numbers.”Priya Nair, audiologist
Home visits
The same care
at your
kitchen table
The same test, the same aids and the same aftercare at your kitchen table or in a care home, within twelve miles of Kingsmere.
Price
From £95
Includes travel within 12 miles; care homes the same
Seen
Tuesdays and Thursdays, within two weeks
75 minutes at home
We come to you
Home visits for hearing tests, fittings, wax removal and repairs within twelve miles of Kingsmere, including care homes. Tom or Helen come on Tuesdays and Thursdays, £95 for a hearing test at home including travel.
“A kitchen table is a perfectly good clinic if you bring the right case and take your time.”Tom Okafor, hearing aid audiologist
NHS advice
NHS or private?
An honest comparison
The NHS gives good hearing aids for nothing, and we say so on the door. Many of our patients keep their NHS aids as a spare pair. What follows is what each route involves, so you can choose with your eyes open. If the NHS is right for you, we say so and write to your GP to get you there.
Book the NHS aid checkFrom £45, 45 minutes
WhatThe NHSHere
- Getting a hearing test
- NHS: see your GP, then a referral; typical wait 6 to 18 weeks depending on area.
- Here: within a week, or at home.
- The test itself
- NHS: about 30 minutes, often without speech-in-noise.
- Here: 60 minutes with video otoscopy and speech-in-noise.
- From test to fitting
- NHS: commonly 4 to 12 more weeks.
- Here: about 9 days.
- Hearing aid style
- NHS: behind-the-ear, occasionally receiver-in-canal, from an approved list.
- Here: any style from any maker, including in-the-ear and rechargeable.
- Technology level
- NHS: a good basic level, close to our Essential.
- Here: four levels up to the best available in noise.
- Real-ear measurement
- NHS: recommended, done in some clinics.
- Here: every fitting.
- Follow-ups and adjustments
- NHS: one follow-up, then a wait for a new appointment.
- Here: as many as you need in 3 months, then 4 years of aftercare, and remote adjustments.
- Batteries and repairs
- NHS: free for life.
- Here: free with Complete care; repairs while you wait.
- Cost
- NHS: nothing.
- Here: £1,495 to £3,795 a pair, or from £56 a month at 0%, with a 60-day refund.
52%
kept their NHS aids after our check
Of 230 people who booked the NHS hearing aid check, 120 left with their NHS aids working and nothing to buy.
Our promise
If our test shows the NHS route would suit you just as well, or your hearing needs a doctor before anyone fits an aid, we tell you plainly and write to your GP the same day. Last year 3.4% of tests were referred on rather than fitted, and half the people who booked the NHS aid check left with their NHS aids and nothing to buy.
The private route, step by step
- Day 0You phone Sandra or use the online hearing check.
- Within a week: the testAn hour with Alan or Priya.
- Same day: the choiceStyle and level chosen with you, price on the wall.
- About day 9: the fitting90 minutes.
- Weeks 2 and 6Two follow-ups to bring the aids up to target and fix the rooms on your list.
- Years 1 to 4Cleaning whenever you pass, a yearly hearing test and re-tune, loan aids during repairs, the same faces every time.
The audiologists
Six people, the
same faces
every time
Every audiologist, nurse and assistant who looks after you, and what they do best.
“If the aids are in a drawer, we failed, not you. Bring them back and we will start again.”
HCPC DEMO-HAD01234 · Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri
Next: Thu 10:00
“I will not promise to make it go away. I will promise you will mind it less, and I can show you the numbers.”
HCPC DEMO-HAD01235 · Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri
Next: Wed 11:00
“A kitchen table is a perfectly good clinic if you bring the right case and take your time.”
HCPC DEMO-HAD01236 · Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat
Next: Tue 10:30 (home visit)
“Olive oil for three days, then twenty minutes with me. It is the most grateful job in the building.”
NMC DEMO-NMC-88L · Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri
Next: Mon 09:20
“Nine times in ten it is the filter. Bring them in before you decide they are broken.”
Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri
Next: Drop in Tue 09:00 to 12:00
“Ring me if you are not sure. Working out what to book is my job, not yours.”
Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
Next: Phone 09:00 to 17:30
Our numbers
Last year, counted
We log every test, every fitting, every return and every wax appointment, and once a year Alan and Priya sit down and count. These are our own figures for 2025, including the ones that do not flatter us. Demonstration data for this template.
Audit year 2025 · 1,840 hearing tests · 720 pairs fitted · 1,210 wax appointments · 310 home visits · 190 tinnitus consultations
- 1,840
hearing tests
Free for 1,610 of them. 46% showed no loss that needed aids, and those people were told so and asked back in two years.
- 91%
of pairs kept after 60 days
720 pairs fitted; 65 returned for a full refund inside the promise. We would rather refund than have aids in a drawer.
- 9 days
from test to fitting, on average
Custom in-the-ear styles take longer (about 14 days) because they are made to your ear impression.
- 100%
of fittings real-ear measured
Every pair, both ears, at fitting and at every re-tune where the change is large. The UK average is under a third.
- 96%
of wax appointments within the week
38% the same day. 4% waited longer, nearly all by choice, and 71 people were told there was no wax and charged £25.
- 78%
less intrusive tinnitus at 3 months
Scored on the Tinnitus Functional Index at the first visit and at three months: a drop of 13 points or more counts as clearly better.
- 52%
kept their NHS aids after our check
Of 230 people who booked the NHS hearing aid check, 120 left with their NHS aids working and nothing to buy.
- 84%
of repairs fixed while you wait
2,600 aids across the bench; the rest went to the maker with a loan pair and came back in 8 working days on average.
The ones that do not flatter us
9% of pairsReturns inside the 60-day promise
6 in 1,000Minor graze during wax removal
11 peopleSudden hearing loss seen and referred the same day
3.4% of testsLosses referred to a doctor rather than fitted
4Complaints
Three people
What it
was like
Three patients, in their own words and ours: what they wanted, what we did, and what it cost, all in.
Derek, 74 · NHS aid check, then a pair at Standard level
Two years in the drawer, then the birds came back
Derek's NHS aids had been in the kitchen drawer for two years. They whistled, they felt loud, and he could never get an appointment to have them looked at. His daughter booked the £45 NHS check without telling him what it was.
He kept the Standard pair on Complete care, paid over 24 months, and kept the NHS aids as a spare. His two-week follow-up was the first time his daughter had seen him laugh at a joke he had not asked to have repeated.
- Time
- 3 weeks from check to keeping the pair
- Cost
- £45 check (refunded against the pair) + £2,295 Standard pair + £195 Complete care, paid at £93 a month over 24 months
Anita, 58 · Tinnitus consultation and sound therapy
The hiss that ran her nights, made small
A hiss that started after a bad cold and never left. Anita was sleeping four hours, had stopped going to the cinema, and had been told by two people to learn to live with it without anyone saying how.
Not cured, and Priya never said it would be. Sleeping seven hours, back at the cinema, and running the tea urn at the support group. She is thinking about a small pair of aids with a tinnitus programme; there is no hurry.
- Time
- 3 months
- Cost
- £120 consultation + £45 sound generator + £60 follow-up
Bill, 88 · Home hearing test, wax removal and a pair fitted at home
The whole thing done at his own kitchen table
Bill lives alone eight miles out and had stopped answering the phone because he could not hear who it was. His neighbour rang Sandra. He did not want to go anywhere, and he did not want a fuss.
Bill answers the phone now. Premium care means every follow-up and the yearly review happen at the table, and Tom rings him in between. He has not been to Market Place and does not intend to.
- Time
- 2 weeks, three visits
- Cost
- £95 home test + £125 home wax removal + £1,695 rechargeable Essential pair + £395 Premium care
What patients say
In their words
David and Sue P. ·
Dad's NHS aids had been in a drawer since Covid. The £45 check got them working and Jenny showed me how to change the filters. Alan said honestly that a private pair would help in the pub but not much at home, so Dad kept the NHS ones. That honesty is why we will go there when he does need something.
Colin R. ·
Rang Monday with ears like I was underwater, Helen saw me Tuesday. Twenty minutes, watched it on the screen, walked out hearing my own shoes on the pavement. £75 and worth every penny after the surgery told me they don't do it any more.
Anita S. ·
Priya is the first person who explained my tinnitus instead of telling me to live with it. Seventy-five minutes, a plan I could read, and the support group at the library. It has not gone, she said it wouldn't, but I sleep now.
Janet W. ·
Excellent fitting and the real-ear measurement thing made a real difference from the pair I had from a chain. Four stars only because my custom in-the-ear pair took nearly three weeks, not the nine days on the website; they did warn me at the time and lent me a pair meanwhile.
Peter and Joan L. ·
Tom came to Mum's care home, tested four residents in a morning, labelled every hearing aid in the building and showed the carers how to look after them. He rings us after each visit. We have never been sold anything and we have never needed to ask twice.
Questions people ask
Questions people ask
The plain answers, the ones we give at the desk. Anything else, ring and ask.
Are hearing aids worth it?
For most people with a loss in both ears, yes, and by a long way: the research links treated hearing loss to less loneliness, better mood and slower memory decline. They do not make hearing perfect, especially in noise, and we say exactly what to expect for your level. Nine in ten pairs we fit stay with their owner after the 60 days, which is the honest measure.
Why go private when the NHS is free?
Sometimes you should not, and we will say so. The NHS gives a good basic aid, batteries and repairs for nothing, after a wait that varies from weeks to months. Private adds speed (test within a week, fitted in nine days), choice (any style, any maker, rechargeable, in-the-ear), higher technology levels for noise, real-ear measurement every time, and four years with the same audiologist. Many of our patients keep their NHS aids as a spare pair. The comparison page sets it all out.
What if I do not get on with them?
Bring them back inside 60 days for a full refund, no restocking fee, whatever the reason. If you paid monthly, the agreement is cancelled too. Last year 65 pairs came back and 65 refunds were paid. Most problems are fixed at the two-week follow-up, so come to that first.
What do hearing aids cost?
£1,495 to £3,795 a pair by technology level, any style, any maker, including fitting with real-ear measurement, follow-ups, four years of aftercare, the maker's warranty and the 60-day promise. A single aid is about 55% of the pair price. Rechargeable adds £200, custom in-the-ear £250. Pay monthly at 0% over 12 or 24 months with a 10% deposit: Essential is about £56 a month over two years.
Batteries, chargers and the fiddly bits?
Most pairs we fit are rechargeable now: overnight in the case, lasts the day. Battery aids take a size 312 or 13; a pack of 60 is £12 at the desk, and four years' supply is included in Complete care. Domes and wax filters need changing every month or two; Jenny shows you and it takes a minute. Stiff fingers? Behind-the-ear or in-the-ear styles are easier to handle and we choose with that in mind.
Do you do ear wax removal, and does it hurt?
Yes, by microsuction under a microscope, usually within three days: both ears £75, one ear £55, £25 if we look and there is nothing to remove. It does not hurt; it is noisy and a bit strange. Olive oil drops for three days beforehand, please. We do not syringe.
Can tinnitus be cured?
For most people, no, and we will not tell you otherwise. What can be done, and it works for most people, is a proper explanation, a hearing test (most tinnitus comes with a loss), sound at night, hearing aids where they help, and a way of thinking about the noise that stops it being a threat. 78% of the people Priya saw last year were clearly better at three months. There is a free support group on the first Thursday of the month.
Do you do home visits?
Yes, Tuesdays and Thursdays, within twelve miles of Kingsmere including care homes. A hearing test at home is £95 including travel, wax removal at home £125, and hearing aids can be fitted and looked after at home, with real-ear measurement, on Premium care. Ring Sandra; she is happy to arrange it with a relative.
Free, in town
Dates worth knowing
Screening mornings, the tinnitus group, a clean-and-check for any hearing aid, a talk. Nothing to buy at any of them.
- 1Oct
Tinnitus support group
First Thursday of every month, 18:30 to 19:45, Kingsmere Library
Run by Priya for anyone with tinnitus and the people who live with them. A short talk each month (sleep, sound, hearing aids, what the research says), then tea and the chance to talk to people who understand. Free, no need to book; just come.
Tinnitus30 places; book with Sandra
- 17Oct
Free hearing screening morning at Kingsmere Library
10:00 to 13:00, no appointment
A five-minute screening check in the quiet room with Tom and Priya, a look in your ears with the camera, and honest advice on what to do next. Nothing to buy and nothing for sale. Bring a parent, bring a neighbour. Large-print leaflets and a loop in the room.
Hearing testsJust turn up
- 10Nov
Clean and check morning: any hearing aid, any maker
09:00 to 12:00 at Market Place
Jenny and Tom clean, retube and check any hearing aid from anywhere, including NHS aids, free, while you wait. Bring the whole drawer. If an aid is beyond help we say so; if it just needed a filter, you go home hearing.
Repairs & aftercareJust turn up
- 19Nov
Hearing, memory and staying connected: a talk for over-60s
14:00 to 15:15, Kingsmere Library
Alan on what the research says about hearing loss, memory and loneliness in later life, what the NHS provides, what private adds, and how to help a parent who says they are fine. Tea afterwards. Free; book a place with Sandra so we bring enough chairs.
Hearing tests40 places; book with Sandra
Book a free hearing test
Book in
four steps
Choose what you need, pick a person and a time, tell us how to reach you. Sandra confirms by phone or in a large-print text within one working hour. Not sure what to book? Ring 01632 960500 and she will work it out with you. Times shown are demonstration data.
Book online with Fenwick Onlineor ring 01632 960500
What would you like to book?
Who with, and where?
When suits you?
Your details
How to find us
The shop with
the orange door
We are the cream shopfront with the burnt-orange door at 12 Market Place, between the bakery and the bank, facing the market cross. The door is level with the pavement and there is a hearing loop at the desk. Ring the bell if you would like someone to open the door for you.
Front door, 12 Market Place (level) · step-free
Two disabled bays outside the bank, thirty seconds away; one-hour free bays around the market cross except Wednesday, market day
Back door from Chapel Lane car park (two steps with a rail)
Chapel Lane long-stay car park, £1.20 for two hours; the back door is twenty paces from the pay machine and opens onto the repairs bench, so drop-offs are quick
By carSat-nav to WX5 1EP. Two disabled bays outside the bank on Market Place, one-hour bays around the market cross, and the Chapel Lane long-stay car park behind us at £1.20 for two hours. Wednesday is market day: use Chapel Lane.
By busEvery bus into Kingsmere stops at the bus station on Chapel Lane, two minutes' level walk from our back door. Routes 4, 9 and the 42 from Wexbury. All are low-floor buses.
By trainKingsmere station is a ten-minute walk down Station Road, or the number 4 bus stops outside it. If the walk is a problem, tell Sandra and she will book a taxi to the door; we pay for it on hearing-aid fitting days.
On footMarket Place is the centre of town. We are the cream shopfront with the orange door facing the market cross, next to the bakery.
We come to youHome visits for hearing tests, fittings, wax removal and repairs within twelve miles of Kingsmere, including care homes. Tom or Helen come on Tuesdays and Thursdays, £95 for a hearing test at home including travel.
Images are AI-generated for demonstration. Your site shows real photos of your practice and team.
Free hearing tests this week
Call us.
01632 960500Sandra answers. Ring me if you are not sure. Working out what to book is my job, not yours.
Mon–Fri09:00 to 17:30
Sat09:00 to 13:00
Getting in
12 Market Place, Kingsmere WX5 1EP.
- Level entrance from Market Place, no steps anywhere on the ground floor
- Hearing loop at the desk and in both test rooms; we speak clearly and face you
- Large-print price list and appointment cards; everything we say is also written down for you
The rules on the wall
- Real-ear measurement on every fitting; 91% of pairs kept after the 60-day promise
- The test is free from 50, the prices are on the wall, and nobody here is paid on sales
- Independent since 2009: every maker, four levels, four years of aftercare with the same faces