Elderly patients in Oxfordshire are paying out hundreds of pounds for hearing aids to avoid waiting over a year for an NHS fitting.

The average waiting time to get a hearing aid fitted at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford is 54 weeks - above the national average - and some pensioners have been in the queue for up to three years.

In some cases, going to a private clinic can cost elderly patients up to £3,000 but with a guarantee a hearing aid can be fitted within two weeks.

A survey by the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists, released this week showed hospital patients in Oxfordshire wait over six weeks more than the national average.

Pensioner Alfred Stratton, 74, of Long Hanborough, bought a hearing aid from a commecial firm, following the experience of his 95-year-old mother who was forced to wait for an appointment at the Radcliffe Infirmary for almost three years.

He said: "I didn't want to go through the wait because I had enough trouble with my mother.

"In 2003 the hospital said they would get it sorted but as far as I'm aware she's still on the list.

"It's terrible when you start losing your hearing. When I have to take them (hearing aids) out I feel lost, they do a wonderful job."

A hearing aid at Scrivens in Witney, Banbury or Oxford costs from £195; prices at HS Audiological Centre in Headington, Oxford, start at £800 and hearing aids at David Ormerod Hearing Centre in Cornmarket Street, Oxford, range from £299 to £3,000.

Scrivens' hearing aid audiologist Rachael Ludlow said: "If you wait too long the hearing can get worse and I've even known a patient who died before she got the hearing aid."

It is the third consecutive year waiting times have increased nationally, but the Radcliffe Infirmary has reduced waiting times by 11 weeks in the past 12 months.

The average national wait is between 45 and 48 weeks. A spokesman for the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust said it knew improvements had to be made. It was planning to replace follow-up appointments with telephone calls to cut waiting times.

The spokesman said: "Locally, the number of people who are joining the list is no longer rising, and we are also prioritising those patients who require a first fitting of a hearing aid.

"We understand that the Government is committed to improving access to the availability of digital hearing aids and intends to produce a guide for primary care trusts who commission hearing aid services."