Fully accessible advice line for British Sign Language (BSL) users. Delivering advice on a range of issues, helping clients understand their assessments, civil rights and other services they need to access.  The advice line enables BSL users to sign ‘face to face’ with a trained advisor who is also a native BSL user.

Also offered as a text-based service for deaf clients who do not use BSL to ensure it is accessible for everyone.

*Covid pandemic update-This group is currently suspended* 

This monthly café is hosted by Health Connections Mendip alongside voluntary sector organisations that will be available to offer support and information. Come along for a cup of tea or coffee to meet other people who are in a similar situation to you. Drop in anytime between 1-30 -3pm. Held at Shepton Mallet Community Hospital alongside the hearing aid maintenance service.

*Covid Pandemic Update- Extra safety measures are in place to continue to provide this service*

For home eye tests and home hearing tests free on the NHS.

*Covid pandemic update-This Health Connections group is currently suspended*

Come along to this free, friendly, supportive Meniere’s peer support group and meet others who’ve been affected by this condition. Get support and support others. Friends and family members welcome.  

When: Dates to be confirmed

Where: Upstairs boardroom at Frome Medical Practice, Enos Way, BA11 2FH

Time: 1:00 pm-2.30pm 

If you have an NHS hearing aid supplied by Musgrove Park Hospital you can request a repair appointment by contacting the Audiology Department at Musgrove Hospital. Contact details below or text the word ‘audiology’ followed by your message to 07768-258508

*Covid pandemic update- Some of these services will have changed, Please call each agency to check*

This leaflet contains information on support organisations for people with hearing loss in Mendip. Click on leaflet below.

*Covid pandemic update – This Health Connections group is currently suspended*

This monthly cafe is hosted by Health Connections Mendip alongside voluntary sector organisations that will be available to offer support and information. Come along for a cup of tea or coffee to meet other people who are in a similar situation to you. Drop in anytime between 9.30 and 11.30 am. Held at Frome Medical Practice in the Boardroom.

We train clever dogs to help deaf people. That’s what we do in a nutshell – we train dogs to alert deaf people to sounds they would otherwise miss – simple sounds that many people take for granted like the doorbell, alarm clock and even danger signals like the fire alarm. Being aware of these – thanks to a hearing dog – makes a real difference to deaf people’s lives.

A hearing dog and their deaf recipient need to be carefully matched to ensure the partnership will work well. So many little things need to be taken into consideration – for example, we wouldn’t match a bouncy, bubbly Labrador with a 70-year-old lady with mobility problems. But that Labrador would make a great companion for a fit 35-year-old who loves going out jogging every morning. We take these important lifestyle factors very seriously to ensure we make the right match. Matches can take up to three years. There is so much more to find out so please contact Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

Somerset County Council’s sensory loss team are trained to work with people with sight and/or hearing loss. Workers can visit you at home and arrange to provide you with support to help keep you independent. Services include provision of equipment and rehabilitation, along with advice and information on a range of specialist organisations for people with sight and/or hearing loss.

* Covid-19 update: currently operating virtually. Please contact Stewart Weston on 07762 848226 or by email as below *

The DeafPLUS Mobile Advisory Service gives advice and information on all aspects of hearing loss, deafness and deaf issues, raises awareness and gives equipment demonstrations.

* Covid-19 update: Lip reading classes continue on Zoom. Contact Gill Cumming for more information *

A Communication Skills Group provides an ideal opportunity to practise lipreading skills in a friendly, relaxed and informal setting. You will learn from each other and the tutor those situations and behaviours, which make it challenging to lipread and the strategies you can use to help yourself and others around you. Sharing experiences of living with a hearing loss can be invaluable, as being deaf or hard of hearing can be very isolating. Classes are FREE and take place weekly (during term-time).

Groups are held in Frome, Glastonbury & Castle Cary – For further details contact the tutor Gill Cumming or Deafplus.

Mid Somerset Tinnitus Self Help Group – Wells

This is a self-help group for people with tinnitus which can often be accompanied by hyperacusis. Support groups can be very useful,  at the very least, you learn that you are not alone and can exchange helpful coping strategies. It’s also very useful for family and friends as they will get a much better appreciation of the extent and range of problems. We have a member who is a hearing therapist with tinnitus and we have had visits from other professionals.

We welcome anyone – people with tinnitus, friends, relatives or those who just wish to learn more – to our meetings, which are held quarterly in the evening. We meet in the Wells Fire Station Community Room. Meeting details are available on the British Tinnitus Association website  www.tinnitus.org.uk or by emailing or calling Mike Rowe

Action on Hearing are experts in providing support and information for people with hearing loss and tinnitus. We supply communication services and training. We offer practical advice to help people protect their hearing. We send out leaflets and catalogues. We have a Samaritan trained person to support  people overwhelmed by Tinnitus. For more information about the service, visit our website or call the freephone number below.