Musicians
Musicians and
loud work
How to reach us
01632 960500Sandra answers, and works out what to book.
Mon–Fri09:00 to 17:30
Sat09:00 to 13:00
12 Market Place, Kingsmere WX5 1EP
Getting in
- 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
Tom plays bass in two bands and has a notch at four kilohertz to show for the first one. If you play, mix, teach, shoot, ride or work on a site, this page is for you: how to protect what you have, and how to hear the band properly if some of it has gone.
Hearing tests within a week; wax removal within three days
Free hearing tests this week
6 things worth knowing
Plainly, and slowly
Nothing here is hurried, and every point is one idea. Ring if any of it raises a question.
Custom filtered plugs, not foam
Musicians' plugs cut the level by 9, 15 or 25 dB evenly across the pitches, so the band sounds like the band, only quieter. Made from an impression of your ear, they stay in and come out with one finger. £165 a pair.
A baseline test, free
Know your numbers before you need them. A full test with a notch check, on one sheet, kept on file so we can compare next year.
Help Musicians scheme
Working musicians can get a hearing assessment and custom plugs for a small contribution through the Help Musicians hearing scheme; we are a provider. Ask Tom.
Hearing aids for musicians are a different fitting
Standard settings squash music. We fit a music programme with wider input range and less compression, real-ear measured, and we test it with your instrument in the room.
Tinnitus after gigs
Ringing the morning after is a warning, not a life sentence, but it is the sign to get plugs now. If it has stayed, Priya's clinic is where to start.
Shooting, riding, site work
Passive shooting filters let speech through and shut out the shot. Motorcycle plugs cut wind and keep the engine. Site workers get something that fits under a helmet and is still in at four o'clock.
Appointments
Where to start
The appointments that fit, with the whole price on each. Not sure? The two-minute check or a phone call sorts it.
Hearing protection
Custom ear plugs
Made from an impression of your own ear: musicians' filtered plugs, shooting, motorcycling, swimming and sleep.
- You leave with:
- Plugs in 10 working days
- At home:
- No
- Price
- From £120
- Sleep or swim £120; musicians' filtered £165; shooting £185
- How long
- 30 minutes for impressions
- Seen
- Impressions any day; plugs back in ten working days
Hearing tests
Full hearing test
A full hour with an audiologist. Free if you are 50 or over, or thinking about hearing aids.
- You leave with:
- Same day, on one sheet
- At home:
- Yes, £95
- Price
- Free
- Free if you are 50 or over, or considering hearing aids. Otherwise £65.
- How long
- 60 minutes
- Seen
- Within a week; same day if your hearing changed suddenly
Tinnitus
Tinnitus consultation
75 minutes with Priya: what your tinnitus is, how loud it really is, and a plan that makes it matter less. Honest about what cannot be cured.
- You leave with:
- Written plan on the day
- At home:
- By video if needed
- Price
- From £120
- Follow-up at 3 months £60
- How long
- 75 minutes
- Seen
- Within two weeks
Hearing aids
Hearing aids, fitted with real-ear measurement
Every maker, four technology levels, fitted to a measurement of your own ear, with four years of aftercare and a 60-day money-back promise.
- You leave with:
- Real-ear measured, every fitting
- At home:
- Yes, fitted at home
- Price
- From £1,495
- A pair at Essential level; single aid about 55% of the pair price
- How long
- 90 minutes to fit; 4 years of care
- Seen
- Fitted about nine days after your test
Bring someone with you
Bring a relative or friend into the appointment; we encourage it. A familiar voice is the best thing to test with, and two people remember more than one.
Cannot get to Market Place?
Tom comes to you. Tuesdays and Thursdays, within two weeks; £95 for a hearing test at home, including travel.
Questions people ask
People ask
Do musicians' plugs really sound different from foam?
Yes. Foam takes out the top end so everything sounds like it is through a wall. A flat filter takes the whole thing down evenly; you can still hear the hi-hat and your own pitch. Most people forget they are in.
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