account_balanceUK Government Help & Funding
Verified financial grants, tax relief schemes, PIP descriptors, and legal rights for hard-of-hearing adults across the UK.
Access to Work is a publicly funded DWP grant scheme designed to pay for specialist equipment, software, hearing technology, and communication support for hard-of-hearing workers in employment or self-employment.
- Specialist Hearing Aids: Funding towards advanced Bluetooth hearing technology beyond standard NHS provision.
- Remote Microphones & Roger Pens: Stream audio directly from meetings into your aids.
- Live Captions & BSL Interpreters: Coverage for live speech-to-text reporting and sign language support.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) helps with extra living costs if you have a long-term hearing impairment, tinnitus, or vestibular condition. It is tax-free and not affected by income or savings.
Key Descriptors for Hearing Loss:
- Communicating Verbally (Descriptor 7): Points awarded based on needing hearing aids, lipreading, or communication support to hear and understand speech.
- Reading & Understanding Signs (Descriptor 8): Points for needing assistance with complex written or visual information.
- Engaging Face-to-Face (Descriptor 9): Points awarded if hearing loss causes severe social anxiety, isolation, or fatigue.
UK VAT law allows individuals with long-term hearing loss to purchase qualifying medical devices (such as private hearing aids, TV streamers, vibrating alarms, and amplified phones) zero-rated for VAT (saving 20%).
Under the Equality Act 2010, UK employers and public venues are legally obligated to make reasonable adjustments for hard-of-hearing individuals, including installing hearing loops, captioning meetings, and providing accessible interview formats.
Our peer initiatives, grassroots guidance, and free form-filling support for Access to Work & PIP applications are driven directly by local Bristol initiates and volunteers.