Chime CIC is a social enterprise that runs dedicated hearing service clinics across 15 locations throughout Devon. It spun out of the NHS in 2011 and is the only audiology department in the UK to have done so. Action on Hearing Loss reported in 2013 that there are more than 10 million people in the UK with some form of hearing loss (1 in 6), of which 6.4 million are over 65. By 2031 it is estimated that the total number will rise to over 14.5 million. One in 10 adults in the UK would benefit from wearing hearing aids (approx. 4 million people), yet only one in 30 does.
Every year, Chime helps about 34,000 people. Its services result in better outcomes for patients and an improved quality of life. Since it is a social enterprise, all profits go back into delivering more and better services.