Now listen up

Hugh M Mackenzie (Letters, 22 October) raises a very valid and important issue. There is no stigma attached to the wearing of a hearing aid any more than the use of spectacles.

However, no hearing aid can “cure” deafness in the same way that spectacles can correct defective vision and this can lead to misunderstanding and unsympathetic treatment from ­strangers.

It is deplorable that any hearing aid manufacturer should add to these problems by introducing the concept of visual stigma.

I too am grateful to the 
National Health Service.

Since I was first issued with a clumsy, body-worn hearing aid in 1971 through to my present pair of highly sophisticated behind-the-ear devices I have nothing but praise for the expert help and service I have received from their audiologists.

No-one with a hearing problem should hesitate to seek their help.

Ian A Reid

Kilbryde Court

Dunblane