The delay in a Department of Health national hearing care plan is placing thousands at risk of dementia, depression and social isolation.

That’s what a number of Galway’s Oireachtas members were told at a special Leinster House briefing organised by Chime, the national charity for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Deputy Albert Dolan and Senators Shane Curley and Anne Rabbitte all heard Chime stressing the urgent need for the promised, but delayed, plan.

The charity highlighted how the HSE currently provides hearing aids to medical card holders and children aged up to 18, but this accounts for just 30% of people who may need them across Ireland.

Chime says that depending on location, waiting times for audiology services can be as long as two years, with the current national waiting list standing at 28,000, half of them children.

“Those dealing with hearing loss urgently require the missing clear pathway to care, and there is a critical need for a framework for the hearing aid sector, which is unregulated,” said Chime CEO, Mark Byrne.

A 2025 peer reviewed study by US medical journal ‘JAMA Otolaryngology’, published by the American Medical Association, found up to 32% of dementia cases over an eight-year period could be linked to hearing loss. It identified hearing loss as the largest modifiable risk factor for dementia.

In 2021, the World Health Organisation called on governments to develop national hearing care plans. It estimated that for every €1 invested, states could expect a return of almost €16, saved over ten years, through greater independence among deaf or hard of hearing people.

“A working group was established by the Department of Health late last year to develop a holistic model of hearing care in Ireland, including the potential to link public and private provision to maximise positive outcomes,” Mr Byrne said.

“The group had been expected to bring forward a draft national hearing care plan by the end of June but has yet to do so.

“A national hearing care plan is a government commitment in the new national human rights strategy for disabled people, 2025-2030. Health Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, must progress the development of a national hearing care plan as a matter of urgency,” he added.

Chime says there are approximately 300,000 adults in Ireland with significant hearing loss, which unmanaged, increases the risk of cognitive decline, depression and social isolation.

It states that Ireland has an extraordinarily high level of unmanaged hearing loss, with hearing aid take up here one third less than in the UK, despite more than 80% of hearing aid users reporting improved quality of life.

“One in three of us will experience hearing loss, early access to tests and treatment is key to preventing further risk,” Mr Byrne added.

“There is no regulatory framework around the private hearing aid sector. Hearing aids cost from €1,000-€4,000 per-pair, though a PRSI grant of €1,000 is available. It is an inefficient and unequitable two-tier system.”

Pictured: Galway East Deputy Albert Dolan with Chime’s Director of Advocacy and Communications, Danielle McLaughlin (left) and Director of Community Services, Siobhan Cole.