Huge variations are being recorded in the time it takes for hospitals to provide digital hearing aids.

According to a recent survey conducted by the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists (BSHAA) the situation around the UK varies dramatically, with some hospitals taking just 11 weeks and others, including hospitals in Wales, taking a minimum of 93 weeks.

Mr  Hastings-Smith of Salisbury told Mature Times that he “has been trying to get a Digital Aid from the NHS since they first came out about three years ago. This area was only empowered to prepare for these Aids last spring, has yet to start issuing them, and as yet has no waiting list  nor list of criteria for priorities, leaving us in limbo. I am 85 in November and doctors have attributed my hearing loss to service with the Artillery at, among other places, the battles of El Alemein and Alam Halfa.

“I have written to my MP and to Ministers to no effect.”

Mr Caldwell of Stevenage suffered from hearing loss during the 1939-45  War, due to gunfire (15”), bombing, and aircraft revving up on the aircraft carrier flight deck prior to taking off by catapult. “I have been waiting for over 12 months for the Digital Hearing Aid.”

An estimated nine million people in the UK suffer from some form of hearing loss. The figure for those with a hearing aid is a small fraction of that, as many people - especially men - are reluctant to be tested, or do not wear the hearing aid they are given. It is now feared that the delays will dissuade many people from getting the help they need with their hearing.