Tambo sits on the Barcoo River in Central West Queensland and is one of the oldest towns in this part of the state. A few hundred people live in the town itself, with families spread out across sheep and cattle country in every direction. CQ Audiology runs a visiting audiologist clinic in Tambo at the Tambo Multi Purpose Centre, 26 Arthur Street QLD 4478, so that looking after your hearing does not have to mean a full day on the highway.
Why a visiting clinic makes sense in a town this size
There is no point pretending Tambo is a big town. It is not, and that is exactly why the clinic day exists. In a city, a hearing appointment is an errand you fit around lunch. Out here it is a decision about the whole day. The alternatives are Blackall to the north, Longreach further north again, or Charleville a good stretch south, and Rockhampton is the better part of a day away on the other side of the range. When an appointment means fuel, a lost work day, or asking someone to drive an older parent there and back, plenty of people keep putting it off. Bringing the clinic to Arthur Street takes the drive out of the decision.
The Multi Purpose Centre as a familiar front door
Holding the clinic at the Tambo Multi Purpose Centre on Arthur Street takes some of the formality out of it. A hearing appointment can feel like a big admission, particularly for someone who has been managing quietly for years and has never said so out loud. Walking into a building you already know, in a town where you know the person at the counter, is an easier first step than a clinic in a city arcade.
How a Tambo clinic day is arranged
Clinic days in Tambo are scheduled around demand and around the rest of the Central West run, so they are not the same week every month. Visiting-clinic days vary by location. Please call (07) 4848 6528 to confirm the next available clinic in Tambo before travelling.
If you are coming in from a property, ring ahead anyway. It tells us how much time to set aside, and when several people from one district call in the same fortnight, that shapes when we next come through.
- Allow about an hour for a first appointment, longer if a family member is sitting in.
- Bring any letters from your GP about your ears.
- If you already wear hearing devices, bring them with the charger or spare batteries.
- Think ahead about the three situations you find hardest, such as the phone, the ute cab or a crowded hall.
- Bring someone with you if you can. A second set of ears helps everyone remember what was said.
What we can do on a clinic day in Tambo
A visiting clinic is not a stripped back version of the main rooms. The assessment itself is the same one you would have in Rockhampton, and the equipment travels with the audiologist.
- A full hearing assessment, including tones, speech testing and middle ear checks.
- A look inside both ears, with a conversation about ear wax if it is blocking the view before testing.
- Your results explained on the day, on the chart, in ordinary language rather than jargon.
- Checks, cleans and adjustments for hearing devices you already own.
- Impressions for custom earplugs for work, sleeping or swimming.
- Tinnitus discussion and practical management strategies.
- Communication strategies for couples and households, which often help as much as any device.
- A clear word back to your GP if anything in the results points to a medical cause.
Noise and hearing protection out on the land
Working life around Tambo has always involved machinery. Shearing sheds, tractors, bikes, augers, chainsaws and firearms are ordinary parts of the week, and for many people they have been for forty or fifty years. Hearing protection was not standard equipment on a property for most of that period. Custom moulded earplugs are one of the more useful things we can organise on a clinic day, because plugs that fit properly tend to stay in, and the ones that stay in get used.
Costs, concessions and the Hearing Services Program
Cost is a fair question to ask before you book, and we would rather you asked than assumed. Eligible pensioner concession card and DVA card holders may access services under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program; eligibility criteria apply. Tell us what card you hold when you call and we will talk you through where you stand.
Between visits, and where the main rooms are
Between clinic days, the telephone is the clinic. If a device stops working, or you are not sure whether what you are hearing is normal for you, call and ask. Small problems are often sorted out over the phone, and where they are not we can plan around the next Tambo visit or arrange a time at the main rooms at T33 and 34A, City Centre Plaza, 24 Fitzroy Street, Rockhampton.
A small town that punches above its weight
Tambo is known well beyond the Barcoo for its handmade teddies, sewn from Australian wool. Travellers pull off the Landsborough Highway for them, stay for the river and the old buildings, and drive on. The people who live here year round are the reason we keep the clinic on the run, because a town of this size loses services easily.
If conversations at the hall have gone muddy, or if someone at home has started repeating themselves for you, it is worth booking a time with our audiologist while we are in Tambo. Call (07) 4848 6528 or email reception@cqaudiology.com.au and we will let you know the next clinic date.
Other places we hold clinics
- ROCKHAMPTON CITY T33 & 34A, City Centre Plaza, 24 Fitzroy Street QLD 4700
- YEPPOON Keppel Bay Medical Centre, Shop 26, Keppel Bay Plaza, 64-67 James Street QLD 4703
- EMERALD Lot 1 Pilot Farm Road QLD 4720
- BILOELA Ace Medical Centre, 48 Grevillea Street QLD 4715
- BLACKWATER North Blackwater General Practice, 14 Blain Street QLD 4717
- BLACKALL Blackall Hospital, 189 Landsborough Highway QLD 4472
- BARCALDINE Barcaldine 60 & Better Program, 13 Willow Street QLD 4725
- LONGREACH North & West Queensland Primary Health Services, 19 Duck Street QLD 4730
- TAMBO Tambo Multi Purpose Centre, 26 Arthur Street QLD 4478
- MOUNT MORGAN 41 Morgan Street QLD 4714
This page is general information, not personal medical advice. For guidance about your hearing, speak with a qualified professional.