The children's audiology service provides hearing assessments, routine checks, and follow-up services for children aged 7 months to 18 years who live in Ealing. Audiology helps to identify and assess hearing function and associated disorders.
The service is part of the Ealing Service for Children with Additional Needs (ESCAN) which brings together health, social care and educational services for children.
The audiology service provides:
- Routine checks
- Hearing assessments
- Follow-up services.
We also offer a hearing screening service to all reception children who go to school in the borough of Ealing.
This service is for all children who need a hearing assessment or routine test as referred by any of the following:
- Community nursery nurse
- Child development team or universal screening services (at birth and in reception)
- GP
- Health visitor
- Speech and language therapist.
Hearing aids
We don’t deal with hearing aids or any system aimed to improve hearing. These cases are referred to the audiology service at the Children’s Hearing Clinic in Hounslow.
This service is provided by Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare Trust
Children can be referred to the service and assessed if:
- They have an Ealing GP and live in Ealing or within 1 mile of the borough
- There are concerns about their hearing
- They’ve been referred by ear, nose and throat (ENT) team for hearing tests before or after surgery.
Referral process
- Referrals are triaged by the senior audiologists in the service
- Once a referral has been received, it’s registered and you’ll be sent a letter with the time and place for an appointment
- Children will be referred on to other services as necessary, for example, Ear Nose & Throat (ENT), speech therapy, or child development.
If your child has reached the age of 18 and still needs their hearing to be monitored, a letter will be sent to your GP for a referral to the adult audiology service.
From 1st April 2026 the Paediatric Audiology service currently provided by Central North West London NHS Trust (CNWL) will transfer to West London NHS Trust.
We do not anticipate any significant changes to how or where you receive your care following this transfer.
Why are Ealing Audiology services transferring?
From 1 April 2026, children’s audiology services for Ealing families, which are currently provided by Central North West London NHS Trust on behalf of Ealing Community Partners, will move to West London NHS Trust and be supported by the children’s services team at Hounslow Community Healthcare.
This change is intended to bring all parts of the Ealing children’s audiology service together within one team, alongside the existing Hounslow children’s audiology service.
Hounslow Community Healthcare already provides some audiology services for Ealing children, and this move will help create a more joined‑up and consistent experience for families.
Who is the new NHS provider?
West London NHS Trust is one of the UK’s most diverse providers of mental health, community, and social care services.
The Trust delivers care to more than 800,000 people across Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Hounslow, providing community-based care (at home, in GP surgeries, and in care homes), hospital services, specialist clinics, and forensic (secure) care.
Will I continue to see the same healthcare professional?
It is likely that staff who currently provide your care will continue to see you and will continue to access your information when they transfer to West London NHS Trust on 1 April 2026.
Data protection and confidentiality
Under the new contract, the services which are transferring from Central North West London NHS to West London will continue to decide how your information is used.
Please note that the staff who you currently work with, will continue to access your information. Sharing patient data will not be permitted to the wider West London NHS Trust unless necessary to provide you with direct care.
Both trusts will process your information in accordance with UK data protection laws so that they can fulfil their responsibilities. The legal grounds for processing data are Articles 6(1)(e) (public task) and 9(2)(h) (medical purposes) of the UK GDPR.
What are my rights as a patient?
UK data protection laws also give you certain rights in the way your information is processed. This includes the right to access information held about you and the right to change or restrict the use of any information which is held about you if you think something is factually incorrect. You also have the right to object to us processing and storing your data, however the ‘right to be forgotten’ and to erase your data does not apply to health information.
If you wish to talk to us about any of these rights, please contact the information governance teams:-
CNWL: cnwl.infogov@nhs.net
or
WLT: IG@westlondon.nhs.uk
If you have any concerns or complaints about how your information is being used, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office – www.ico.gov.uk
Got a question about the change in provider?
In the first instance, please speak to the clinical team at your child’s next appointment.
Alternatively, you can call 0207 461 740 or email: wlt.audiologyealing@nhs.net.