Digital Hearing Aids Sandbach – Digital Hearing Aids Cheshire

Digital Hearing Aids Sandbach – Digital Hearing Aids Cheshire

Here’s one to test your hearing.  The market town of Sandbach in Cheshire has had a number of names over the years.  It was once known as Sanbec around the time of the Norman Conquest and a couple of centuries later, Sondbache or Sondebache.  By some strange twist it became Sandbitch in the 17th & 18th centuries.  Now it firmly answers to Sandbach.  Which ever derivation, the name comes from the Anglo-Saxon words for a sand stream or a sand valley.

Did you catch that?
This can be confusing and hard to catch if you’re one of the 10 million people in the country who suffer some hearing loss.  It’s a real pain isn’t it, well not physically, it’s just annoying.  Having to ask people to repeat what they have said and accusing them of mumbling.

Actually admitting that your hearing might not be as good as it was is one of the hardest things to do.  None of us like to own up to being anything less than perfect.  But if you are suffering from this disability, digital hearing aids can certainly improve the situation.

At Castle Comfort Hearing Aids we offer free hearing tests for people in and around Sandbach.  The tests are simple and don’t cause any discomfort.  You can read all about them here.

Some hearing loss is hereditary and some caused by work environment noise, although most of those working in noisy environments are now protected by Health and Safety and wear ear muffs.  One of the biggest causes is the aging process which comes to most of us especially as we are now living longer statistically.  Don’t get pushed out of the conversation, give us a call to find out about our free hearing tests on 01782 69 80 90.

Back to Sandbach
Not much is known or recorded about the town in Anglo-Saxon times, apart from the fact that the area often suffered raids from the Welsh and the Danes.  By 1086 it was just big enough to feature in the Doomsday Book and warrant a church and a priest.

Saxon Crosses
To mark their conversion to Christianity in the 9th century, 2 Saxon Crosses were built which still stand in the centre of the town.  In those days, they were built to last!  However, they did suffer some damage during the Civil War and aren’t as tall as they were originally.  They have been given Grade I listed status as a ‘scheduled monument’ by English Heritage.

Market Charter
Sandbach’s market charter wasn’t put in place until the 16th century by Elizabeth I.  The weekly market still takes place every Thursday on Scotch Common.  Incidentally the common got its name from a skirmish with the retreating Scottish army who had been beaten at the Battle of Worcester in the Civil War.  It was the Summer Fair in Sandbach and the tired retreating army didn’t fair well.  The inhabitants of Sandbach killed around 10 of the retreating cavalry and captured 100 soldiers.  As the Fair took place on the town’s common it has been called Scotch Common from that time.

Famous Sandbach Ale
Apparently in the 17th century Sandbach was famous for its production of ale.  Its fame spread as far as London.  However it seems to have disappeared without trace, maybe losing its popularity to ales from Yorkshire and Wales and beers from Dorchester.

Sandbach’s Silk Mills
During the 19th and 20th centuries the town grew with the coming of industry and production.  In the case of Sandbach it was the production of silk.  The mills were the biggest local employers and their workforce included children too.  The only evidence that remains seems to be the Brook Mill Roundabout!

The brass band tradition
Now here’s some deafening news!  Fodens Brass Band is based in Sandbach and was formed by the workforce of Foden Trucks who were once big in the town.  Its original name was Fodens Motor Works Band.  The band was started around 1900 and has been going strong ever since.  From conception the band sought acknowledgement for its achievements and has gained championship status, which it maintains to this day.

The band has won the British Open Brass Band Championships 12 times, the National Championships of Great Britain 13 times and the North West Regional Championships 16 times.  It has notched up 6 wins in the Brass in Concert Championships, 7 in the All England Masters and has won both the English National Championships and the European Championships once!

Sandbach Flashes
Just west of Sandbach you’ll find the Sandbach Flashes.  These have been designated as a ‘Site of Special Scientific Interest’ for their incredible biodiversity.

What are they?  The Flashes are a series of pools formed where the land has subsided due to salt deposits.  Most of the flashes are surrounded by grasslands but Fodens Flash also has some surrounding woodlands.  Another flash that has been individually named is Elton Flashes.  Flashes are rare to Britain hence their designated protected status.  More than 225 species of bird have been identified here and countless varieties of flora unusual to the UK including sea Aster, Lesser Sea-spurrey, Reflexed Saltmarch grass and lichen.

The rich and famous of Sandbach
·         Blaster Bates, real name Derek Macintosh Bates, a demolition expert who came to fame after making a number of sound recordings is buried in St Mary’s church in Sandbach.

·         TV presenter Yvette Fielding who is connected with the programme Most Haunted and Ghosthunting with ... lives in a possibly haunted house in Sandbach.


·         Sandbach is or has been home to several famous sportsmen including English cricketer Philip Dunkley; Jason Kearton who was goalkeeper for Crewe Alexander and Everton, lived here at that time; the late footballer Charles Kelly who played for Stoke and Tranmere Rovers was born in Sandbach; another late England and Manchester City player Frank Roberts could also claim Sandbach as his home town; footballer Bert Sprotson who gained 11 England caps in his lifetime was also born here.


·         Father Fred and after him Harry Mortimer were both conductors of the Foden Brass Band.  Harry’s brother Rex and Alex both played in the band and went on to become band conductors too.


·         Architect Sir George Gilbert Scott designed Sandbach School and undertook other restoration in the town.  He is probably more famous for buildings such as the St Marys Cathedrals in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras now the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel and the Albert Memorial.

·         Edwin Foden established Fodens Trucks in Sandbach.  They were eventually acquired by PACCAS and stopped using the Foden trademark in 2006 when the last Foden truck was produced.

·         It is also the home of literary critic Ivor Armstrong Richards whose book The Meaning of Meaning has been constantly in print since it was first published in 1923 and explores the concept of semantics.


You may not be famous or rich, but like everyone you can be susceptible to hearing impairment.  A free audiology test will confirm once and for all to what degree your ears are affected.  Read more about the free test available.  It involves wearing headphones which are connected to a computer to test the level of decibels that have to be reached for each ear to hear.

Once this is identified your digital hearing aids can be ordered.  They will take a little getting used to, but they will make a great deal of difference to you being able to take part in normal activities and conversations.  Don’t waste any time, give us a call today on 01782 69 80 90 or contact us here.