When children, young people or adults are not making appropriate progress with hearing aids, please refer to us as we offer all available hearing implant options.
Who can refer
We consider referrals from:
- ear, nose and throat consultants
- audiological physicians
- scientists and technicians
- paediatricians
- speech and language therapists
- teachers of the deaf
- GPs
To proceed with funding, a medical referral is required.
How to refer
To send a referral or request specialist information, please email us using the email addresses in the referrals contacts box on this page.
Referral forms
Referral criteria
Please note that this criteria is for guidance and if you need any more advice about referrals you can contact us directly.
Information about referring to our adult services can be found on the Guy's and St Thomas' website.
Cochlear implant (CI)
- pure tone audiometric thresholds equal to or greater than 80dB HL at 2 or more frequencies (500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000Hz, 3000Hz and 4000Hz) bilaterally without acoustic hearing aids
- limited benefit from wearing hearing aids
- children: do not wait for speech / language delay
- congenital, acquired, progressive, sudden onset.
Auditory brainstem implant (ABI)
- unsuitable for CI
- non-neurofibromatosis type 2
- cochlear nerve aplasia
- cochlear obliteration (ostosclerosis, ossification)
- cochlear nerve avulasion (skull base fracture).
Electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS)
- air conduction (AC) thresholds within shaded area
- stable sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL)
- no air-borne gap >15dBHL
- limited benefit from hearing aids
- no external ear contraindications to wearing an earmould.
Middle ear implant (MEI)
- SNHL (AC thresholds within orange shaded area) or mixed/CHL (BC thresholds within brown outline)
- stable hearing loss
- inability to wear conventional hearing aids due to medical reasons (eg chronic otitis media, psoriasis, congenital malformations of ear canal/pinna, allergies, exostoses, furunculosis, etc)
- no retrocochlear or central auditory disorders.
Bone conduction implants (BCI)
- bone conduction thresholds within green area
- inability to wear conventional hearing aids (eg chronic otitis media or otitis externa, congenital malformations, otosclerosis, recurrent ear infections due to hearing aid usage)
- unilateral profound SNHL, with normal BC thresholds in the better hearing ear.