172 | UK Enterprise Awards 2022 Durham Hearing Specialists is the local hearing healthcare service with a difference. In the wake of it being recognised in the UK Enterprise Awards 2022, we find out more about the clinic and what it has to offer – including the reasons behind its surprisingly large social media following. Durham Hearing Specialists is an award-winning ear expert, which is independently run and patient-focused in everything it does. Based in Barnard Castle and Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, the company provides hearing tests, hearing aids, micro suction ear wax removal, tinnitus therapy, and hearing protection. Offering a wide range of hearing aids, most of which are rechargeable and Bluetooth compatible, ensures that Durham Hearing Specialists makes the most of the modern technology that is available on the market. It can also fit some top-of-the-range aids that offer unique benefits, such as being waterproof, tracking heart rate alongside the world’s only invisible hearing aids that are fitted discretely inside the ear canal. Also using the latest technology in micro suction, the company’s practitioners can resolve ear blockages in a safe, clean and comfortable way. “We know that each individual is unique,” a spokesperson for Durham Hearing Specialists comments. “Which is why we spend time getting to know our patients and ensuring that everything we do is personalised and tailored, delivering the highest quality of service at every consultation.” When recruiting new team members, it is important for the firm that people who share its values are chosen, as well as staff that have been trained at a top level and possess the qualifications and experience needed for patients to have every confidence in them. Whereas many businesses, particularly those in the healthcare sector, struggled throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Durham Hearing Specialists actually found that they benefitted in several ways from it. As doctor’s surgeries were not offering ear irrigation, and with a lot of appointments being done over the phone or Hearing Centre of the Year – North East Jun22105 video, people little other option but to approach a private clinic that offered the required service. “With us offering the micro suction, which is a much safer, cleaner way than some traditional methods, we have seen patients come back to us again and again, now preferring the method we offer.” The clinic also found the community support in its location of Barnard Castle helped to see it safely through the pandemic and, much like several other small businesses in the area, it has now gone from strength-to-strength, including being able to open a brand new clinic in nearby Stockton on Tees too and employing more staff members due to increased business activity. “At Stockton on Tees we are only open one day a week at present, but shortly we will be offering more days when our new audiologist joins us full time,” the spokesperson elaborates. “So we hope that the Stockton clinic will grow in numbers quite rapidly over the next few months.” Recently, the clinic was rewarded for its dedication to its patients and its hard work during the pandemic by being recognised in the UK Enterprise Awards 2022 and bestowed with the prestigious accolade of Hearing Centre of the Year for the North East. But it seems the skies the limit for this firm which is also becoming renowned for embracing modern technology outside of its specialist area too! “Tik Tok is a strong influence for the business,” the spokesperson enthuses. “We boast 710k followers, some videos getting more than 30 million views, and we also have a strong following on YouTube too! The videos we upload are mostly educational and can be helpful to those training to be audiologists or ENT consultants, but a lot of people just love the ear wax removal videos, I suppose it is a bit like the pimple popper trend in many ways!” Company: Durham Hearing Specialists Web Address: www.durhamhearingspecialists.com
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