Gracemere is about 10 kilometres south west of Rockhampton, near enough that plenty of locals are in town several times a week anyway. There is no hearing clinic in Gracemere itself. People from Gracemere are seen at the CQ Audiology rooms in Rockhampton, at T33 and 34A, City Centre Plaza, 24 Fitzroy Street, Rockhampton QLD 4700, roughly a fifteen minute drive from the Gracemere shops.
Where to find an audiologist near Gracemere
Head east along the Capricorn Highway and you are in the middle of Rockhampton in about a quarter of an hour. City Centre Plaza sits on Fitzroy Street with parking on site and a lift to the clinic level, so there are no stairs and no long walk at the end of the drive.
That short distance changes what is possible. Because this is not a visiting service, nothing is tied to a set clinic day. Appointments run Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm and Saturday mornings from 9:00am to 12:00pm, which suits people who would rather not lose a day's work. Where getting into the clinic is genuinely difficult, home visits can be arranged.
Hearing and the work around Gracemere
Gracemere has always been a working town. The saleyards on its edge are one of the country's larger cattle selling complexes, and around them sit transport depots, engineering workshops, machinery yards and the constant movement of the Capricorn Highway. A great many people here spend their days near diesel engines, air tools, stock work, grain handling or heavy vehicle maintenance.
Noise at work is worth taking seriously long before anyone notices a change in conversation. We carry out pre-employment hearing assessments and industrial deafness assessments for employers and workers across the district, and we make custom earplugs moulded to your own ears. Off the shelf protection is often uncomfortable enough that people quietly stop wearing it, which does nobody any good.
A young town, not just an older one
Gracemere has grown quickly, and much of that growth has been young families in new estates rather than retirees. Hearing care is not only an older person's concern. Children with a history of glue ear or repeated ear infections, teenagers who live in headphones, and parents working in noisy trades all have good reason to have their hearing measured and recorded, so there is a baseline to compare against in years to come.
A hearing assessment is also a sensible thing to have on file before starting an apprenticeship or a new job on a noisy site. It gives the worker a record and the employer a starting point, and it takes about an hour.
How an assessment runs
Nothing in the appointment is uncomfortable, and nothing is rushed.
- We start by talking. What you have noticed, where it bothers you most, the noise you work around, whether there is ringing in the ears, and what has happened to your ears in the past.
- We look inside both ears, and clear wax by micro-suction if it is blocking the view.
- You listen through headphones and respond to tones across a range of pitches, down to very quiet levels.
- We measure how well you make out speech, which is much closer to what daily life asks of you.
- We check how the eardrum and middle ear are moving, which helps place where the difficulty sits.
- We go through the results with you on the spot and agree what happens next.
Sometimes the answer is that nothing needs doing right now, with a review in twelve months to see whether anything has shifted. Sometimes it is a change in how the household talks to each other. Sometimes it is a hearing device, and if so we go through the styles, what each is suited to, and what it costs before you decide anything.
Bring someone who knows your hearing
Ask a partner, an adult child or a mate to come in with you. They often have a clearer picture of which conversations you miss than you do, and they hear the explanation of the results firsthand instead of second hand across the kitchen table. From Gracemere that usually costs nothing more than a shared drive in.
Devices, servicing and coming back
Living close to town helps most after the first appointment rather than during it. Hearing devices need tuning through the first weeks while your ears adjust, and small things such as a blocked wax filter or a worn dome are quick to sort out in person. A fifteen minute drive makes that easy, where a two hour round trip often means people put it off and go without. We also service and repair devices, supply batteries and consumables, and see you for reviews as your hearing changes.
What it costs
You are told what an appointment and any device will cost before you commit to anything. Eligible pensioner concession card and DVA card holders may access services under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program; eligibility criteria apply. Many private health funds contribute towards devices depending on your level of cover, and work related and insurance claims are handled where they apply.
Booking from Gracemere
If Gracemere is home and you are after an audiologist, the clinic is a short drive in. Call (07) 4848 6528, email reception@cqaudiology.com.au, or use the online booking form. Tell us if you would rather the first appointment of the day or a Saturday morning, and we will work around the trip in.
This page is general information, not personal medical advice. For guidance about your hearing, speak with a qualified professional.