As a hearing aid wearer herself, Dr Rose Dodd is particularly aware of patients who might have a hearing problem. And if they’re older patients who leave their aids in a drawer, she’ll give them a stern talking to about bringing them out again. Rose became aware of her hearing loss around 8 years ago. Straining to hear patients and friends with quiet voices, she knew she needed to do something about it. “I was told I had a mid-frequency hearing loss in both ears, probably a genetic issue,” said Rose.

Rose confesses she did think hearing aids might be ‘aging’, but quickly got on with getting them fitted because she knew it would help. “The difference was quite dramatic. I could suddenly hear the quiet voices. It was really quite overwhelming.” Because her hearing loss is only moderate, Rose can still use a regular stethoscope, and her hairstyle disguises any sign of the hearing aids.

“But I’m a lot less self-conscious about them now,” she says. “If I’m trying to make the point to my patients about the value better hearing brings, I’ll take one of the aids out and show them.”

Rose is now on her second set of hearing aids and has noticed the big difference better technology gives her. “I’ve got GN Resound top of the range aids now. They were expensive, but they’ve got a lot more settings for volume control . They can also connect through Bluetooth to other devices so I can listen on a cellphone without putting it up to my ear and listen to music on my iPhone.

“I also have some tinnitus. The aids help with that too, but an hour long session with Janet on other techniques to help was brilliant and I’d really recommend that.”

While she jokes that when her now teenage boys were younger she used to threaten to “turn them off”, Rose wears her aids full time and says they’re essential for her to do her job. “Look as I say to my patients, if you’ve got problems hearing, don’t muck about. Get on and get it sorted.“