A COMMUNITY healthcare team has expanded to help reduce hearing loss among people in nursing and residential homes in Trafford.

Trafford Ear Care Service, which is part of Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, found that approximately 50 per cent of nursing home residents were experiencing hearing loss due to ear wax build up.

Ear wax build up can leave older people at higher risk of falls as it affects balance and mild hearing loss also increases the risk of depression, social isolation and dementia.

With the aim of addressing this, the service appointed a new staff member to visit nursing and residential homes in the borough to remove ear wax or other blockages causing hearing difficulties.

Ear Care lead Christine Howell-Smith said many elderly people in nursing and residential homes did not realise ear wax was causing their hearing loss.

She said: “Quite often older people assume hearing loss is an unavoidable part of getting older but we find that in many cases there’s an easy solution.

“We can carry out a quick and pain-free procedure to clear the wax and the improvement in hearing is instantaneous and really improves people’s quality of life.”

The Trafford Ear Care team was recently awarded a Pennine Care staff Principles of Care Award after being voted for by colleagues for going the extra mile to support service users.

It is the only dedicated community ear care service in the region as ear wax and ear blockage clearance is traditionally carried out at a GP practice or in hospital.

People can be referred to the service by their GP or contact the team directly on 0161 975 4740.