Published on 1st September 2025

The Horsham Hearing Centre is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Since its foundation, the business has been owned and managed by husband-and-wife audiologists Jonathan and Julie Ormerod. AAH visited their town centre branch to find out more… 

What inspired you to embark on a career in audiology? 

Jonathan: I followed a family tradition by entering the profession. Both my parents were audiologists and my father, David, established a successful practice in Wales. He later expanded, opened hearing centres across the north of England and the Midlands. 

What was your route into the profession?

Jonathan: I moved to Sussex and spent eight years at A&M Hearing, one of the world’s first manufacturers of hearing aids, on the Manor Royal estate in Crawley. A&M handled NHS contracts, so I travelled the country ensuring that hospitals and private audiologists were offering the latest hearing products to patients. This gave me an invaluable insight into the manufacturing aspects of hearing aids, which I utilised after qualifying as an audiologist. Julie and I were married in 1995 and launched our own practice, the Horsham Hearing Centre, just three months later. 

Where was your first practice?

Julie: Ironically, we were based in a room at Specsavers, then located on West Street. We operated independently, long before Specsavers considered offering its own audiology services. At that time, we were the only company offering hearing aids in Horsham. From those humble beginnings, we moved to a unit on Blackhorse Way, before buying our current home opposite the library on Worthing Road in 2001. Initially, I was involved mostly in administrative aspects of the business, before I also qualified as an audiologist and started working alongside Jonathan. 

How have hearing aids evolved since you started out?

Julie: I still keep a screwdriver as a memento from the analogue era! Before smartphones, we used to fit behind-the-ear hearing aids, or relatively crude inside-ear devices that used analogue rather than digital sound. These could be altered by turning a screw on the side of the device, but hearing aids have come on leaps and bounds since then. They are now made with waterproof materials, with Bluetooth compatibility which allows users to adjust the sound through their mobile. 

Presumably, a lot of people need help with such technology?

Julie: We probably spend half of our time helping people with their phones! The audiology side is relatively straightforward, but connecting people – especially older generations – to hearing aids through a smartphone is more challenging. The latest hearing aids often need to be paired with a phone through an app and we slowly go through these steps with customers. However, not everybody owns a smartphone and there are plenty of hearing aids that don’t require an app. Some customers prefer a hearing aid that is fully automatic, so they can take it off at night and put it on again in the morning, without using a phone. Others like to know exactly how to operate their device through an app. However, our first priority is hearing and then everything else follows.

How many types of hearing aids are available?

Jonathan: There are only five hearing aid manufacturers in the world, but much like car marques, each offers multiple models, such as Phonak and Unitron (both owned by the Sonova Group), Oticon and Bernafon (owned by Demant) and Audibel (Starkey). We offer all of them at our Hearing Centres. Obviously, we have favourites, as often one manufacturer will release a new hearing aid that raises the bar. Currently, two products have an edge over the competition, as they utilise second generation Artificial Intelligence (AI) and we favour devices that offer customers the best sound. However, some have other features that might make them more comfortable or user-friendly for certain customers, so we find a tailored solution. As I use a hearing aid myself, I test every product and pass this knowledge on to customers.

How is AI impacting your business?

Jonathan: AI represents the biggest change in the industry for a generation. New products even include apps that can translate foreign languages and deliver it to your hearing aid in English, which was in the realm of science fiction not so long ago. Perhaps the greatest advancement is how AI can recognise speech sounds, continually adjust background noise and filter out unwanted sounds. Many people struggle with the sound quality of modern televisions. Ultra-high-definition screens are commonplace, yet sound quality hasn’t kept pace with visual advancements. If you watch a 1950s Ealing comedy, you’ll hear the dialogue and music clearly, yet modern productions don’t offer such precise sound mixing. Young people are used to it, but to older generations, it’s a cacophony of noise! So, hearing aids are adopting AI to resolve such issues, effectively streaming sound directly from the TV and delivering it clearly to the listener. 

How else does modern technology impact hearing?

Julie: The number of people in their 40s, 50s and 60s experiencing hearing problems has increased exponentially and many of these issues are caused by headphones or earbuds. There is a generation growing up using headphones to play video games or listen to music and podcasts through wireless earbuds. They can deliver wonderful clarity of sound, but young people often listen with the volume turned up too high and this is contributing to Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), which occurs when the brain and ears don’t co-ordinate. Modern devices such as AirPods have noise cancelling features that eliminate background noise. This is great when listening to music, but people who use them for long periods are finding that it impacts the brain’s natural ability to reduce background noise. Suddenly, going down the pub can become less pleasant, as they can’t cope with all the background noise. 

How can people find the right device for them?

Jonathan: As we are the only independent hearing centre in Horsham, we can offer products by all five major manufacturers and choose the one most appropriate for the customer. Other hearing care providers in the town are owned by larger companies - and often manufacturers - so people will only be offered one brand. Also, we are quite unique in the profession in that we have a specialist laboratory that makes custom-fitted moulds for hearing aids. So, we can customise devices to make sure that they fit properly, helping to contain sound and be more comfortable. 

Has our attitude towards hearing tests changed?

Jonathan: It is still the case that many people will regularly have their eyes and teeth checked, but don’t give the same care and consideration to their hearing. It’s a shame, as I have found that those who come to us earlier adapt to hearing aids better and enjoy clear hearing into later life. Yet often we meet people who have been living with hearing loss for 20 years or longer and never had their ears tested. We have also found that wearing a hearing aid helps to stave off dementia as it mitigates the cognitive effects of hearing loss. 

Hearing aids can be expensive, right?

Jonathan: Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. One thing we do that is unique in our profession is to allow customers to try hearing aids before they buy them. At most practices, people have to buy hearing aids and then return them if they don’t get on with them. In my experience, that’s a waste of everyone’s time. At the Horsham Hearing Centre, customers have a full assessment and – if appropriate – we will fit state-of-the-art hearing aids there and then. They can then try them for a couple of weeks and, if they like them, order their own. We find this to be a much better way to work and our customers are far happier once they start their hearing journey.

What other services do you offer?

Julie: We offer wax removal to help protect and clean the ears. Sometimes, we see this service offered by people with no qualifications, whereas here it is performed by clinical ear care specialists. If you’re going to have anybody looking in your ear, I would suggest that you ensure they are qualified! 

Have you opened other Hearing Centres outside of Horsham?

Julie: We have two other Hearing Centres in Reigate (opened in 1996) and Barnes, West London (opened in 2001). Both centres offer the same service as Horsham. We are happier working as a small team and this allows us to maintain our high level of personal service. It has also given me the time to volunteer in impoverished countries, working with charities to provide hearing aids in places where hearing care services are not available. I have made two visits to Armenia and we continue to collect used hearing aids to help more people.

What’s the secret to your success?

Jonathan: I think it’s the personal approach that we provide as an independent business. Technology is great, but customers place more value on talking to an experienced audiologist they know and trust. As we’ve been in the same place for 25 years and each have at least 30 years’ experience – with Julie having also recently being nominated for the Audiologist of the Year award – people know they can rely on us. It takes courage for someone to admit they have a hearing problem, so we make sure they’re not just a number on a conveyor belt. Everyone is treated with respect and, over time, we forge a long-term relationship with them. That’s why we receive a great number of referrals from satisfied customers and medical professionals, and why people have been coming to us for 30 years. 

WORDS: Ben Morris / PHOTOS: Alan Wright