With aging populations and fewer GPs offering wax removal, ear and hearing health services are in high demand, and patients need new ways to access healthcare.

TympaHealth is the world’s first all-in-one hearing health assessment system. TympaHealth partnered with TLC Care, a luxury care home provider, to trial and bring their cutting-edge technology to care homes. TLC Care is a pioneer in offering this service in- house to it’s care homes in the UK

The pioneering system is a portable, all-in-one hearing health assessment device which provides a hearing health check, wax removal, and screening hearing test. It also enables a remote review platform for image review by ENT specialists and creates a digital ear health record that can be shared with the GP.

Hiral Vyas, Director of Care & Medicines at TLC Care commented “We were approached by TympaHealth with their new technology, they presented what they were doing. Identifying how much of an issue this is in our residents and in this population, it was something we were keen to trial out. Initially, we trialled it out in three homes and it was very successful and now, we are taking it to all eight of our homes.”

Poor ear and hearing health can lead to problems such as social isolation and depression and can seriously impact on communication, often leading to confusion. Hearing loss can also be confused with dementia and is one of the single most modifiable risk factors in the prevention of dementia, therefore, the importance of good ear care in the care sector is crucial. Many residents in care homes wear hearing aids. If the wax is not removed at least once a year, the hearing aids will be damaged and will not work properly.

Senior members of TLC Care Potters Bar based homes, Cooperscroft and Cuffley Manor and Barnet based, Carlton Court were provided with training and a demonstration of the system.

By using this system, care homes would be able to provide this service themselves, without needing to transfer residents to audiology or ENT departments. This would provide easy access to residents, especially those with limited mobility. With dementia residents being treated within their rooms by people they know, residents are not taken from their familiar surroundings and can, therefore, avoid any confusion or anxiety that might result from a hospital visit.

With the training, team members were able to carry out wax removal using micro-suction. It also trained the team on how to identify abnormalities in the ear, take images and send them to the GP to support with instant referrals to the ENT.

There has been a positive impact on the residents that received the treatment. The treatment has not only impacted residents but

There has been a positive impact on the residents that received the treatment, as well as their families. “The familiar surroundings of Mom’s care home is what really makes her comfortable to have this treatment … every time we mention the hospital to her, it’s no, no I’m not going to the hospital. So having her ears looked after here and having the team understand what the problem with the ear is, is a great thing for me.” –Son of Resident

A Testimonial from a resident who was part of the clinics at Cuffley Manor Care Home expressed,      

 “ The micro-suction was good. I could hear my family, the staff, and other residents without struggling. I had my ears syringed before, but this process was so much better. It wasn’t uncomfortable and unpleasant.  On the opposite it was fun, and the results are amazing. Thank you very much. “

also their families. “The familiar surroundings is what really makes her comfortable…every time we mention the hospital to her, it’s no, no I’m not going to the hospital. So having it looked after here and having some people that understand what the problem with the ear is, is a great thing for me.” –Son of Resident

Testimonials from a resident who was part of the clinics at Cuffley Manor Care Home expressed, “ The micro-suction was good. I could hear my family, the staff, and other residents without struggling. I had my ears syringed before, but this process was so much better. It wasn’t uncomfortable and unpleasant.  On the opposite it was fun and the results are amazing. Thank you very much.“

There was a particular story that melted the hearts of both staff and residents at Cooperscroft Care Home. During the team training, a lady was performing the ear wax removal procedure on her 91-year-old mother. The mother had struggled with her hearing for several years which had also limited communication between the mother and daughter. The removal of ear wax prompted the daughter to whisper to her mother ‘I love you’ with the mother being able to reply, ‘I love you too’. This brought tears of happiness and joy to the mother, daughter, and those around them.

Brenda Sweetman, Home Manager at Cooperscroft Care Home told us “It has been so interesting to take part in the rollout at Cooperscroft. It has made such a difference to our residents being able to offer this service, some of our residents are very frail and traveling to hospital appointments is difficult and even more so during these times.”

Lorna Badrick, COO of TLC Care stated “To be able to actually address issues, there and then and respond in that way, it’s just made such a positive difference to our residents in terms of the lives that they can then live without our care homes”

In summary, because of this fantastic service, the homes can address hearing problems immediately and offer relief. Residents can hear better, communication is improved, and they are less isolated.

Click here to watch a video to find out more about the services and to hear from the staff, residents, relatives, and clinicians.