Who’s who?

Since the 1990s I have worked as a clinical scientist in audiology at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, and more recently also as a lecturer in audiology at the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness at the University of Manchester. I am currently on the Multi-professional Learning Disabilities and Autism Consultant pathway. Within audiology, my clinical, educational and research specialisms are the audiological care for adults with cognitive needs, and neonatal auditory diagnostics. These roles have led to extensive multidisciplinary working and involvement with a range of special interest groups including the European Federation of Audiology Societies Working Group on Intellectual Disabilities, the BSA Cognition SIG and BSA Electrophysiology SIG.

I became Vice Chair of the BSA in June 2024, after five years as a member and Chair of the Professional Guidance Group. I remain committed to developing guidelines that are well-evidenced and offer practical guidance to clinicians. This is a key focus of the BSA in supporting the audiology profession, and I am keen that we engage stakeholders across all aspects of the profession to achieve this.

I am the Clinical Manager at Interacoustics UK, following years of service in the NHS in adult and paediatric audiology, and vestibular assessment and rehab, most recently as the vestibular service lead at Kingston & Richmond NHS Foundation Trust. I have also been active in research, mainly publishing papers in hearing rehabilitation for older adults. After many years working in business management and strategy, I retrained in audiology via the NHS Scientist Training Programme (STP) and the Higher Scientific Specialist Training (HSST) programme, after originally studying acoustics to PhD level.

I have worked in audiology for over 36 years both within the NHS and the academic sector and according to the university have taught over 750 students. I am Clinical Director for the Healthy Hearing programme for Special Olympics GB and have volunteered at World Special Olympics. I have been in this role fort 14 years. I am also involved in a voluntary project in the Gujarat, India, which is a student led project. The project started in 2016 and we offer free hearing screening and fit hearing aids, which have been donated, to whoever needs one. Both projects are very important to me, and I am very passionate about developing and supporting audiologists of the future.

I have spent my audiology career in NHS Audiology services and, in my current role as Consultant Clinical Scientist, I lead the adult audiology service in North Wales. I have been a member of BSA for nearly thirty years and have always valued all that it has to offer. I’ve been able to contribute as a member of the previous ‘Learning and Events Group’ and as a member, Vice Chair and Chair of the Adult Rehabilitation Special Interest Group (ARIG). I was also the Editor in Chief of the BSA magazine Audacity between 2017 and 2020. More recently I have become a BSA Trustee and taken on the role of Honorary Secretary. I’ve always been proud to be a member of BSA and feel privileged to be a current custodian and part of the team taking BSA forward

The BSA’s Global Outreach work relates to audiology in low-resource settings worldwide – a challenging but important topic. I believe that innovation, cost-effectiveness, good practice and evidence are compatible and necessary to improve millions of lives.

My career began in NHS audiology. I went on to have a varied career, pursuing interests in public health, international development and technology in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Recent roles in product management involved improving audiometry outside the booth and building software for global health researchers. Before that, I managed programmes in Africa and Asia to strengthen health systems. In Cambodia, I headed up an audiology training school, juggling clinical practice, teaching, management and service development.

I hope you will take a look at the BSA’s Global Outreach page and consider getting in touch.

Learning and development quality has always been my passion. I have worked in higher education for ten years, including the past six at De Montfort University (DMU), where I am a Senior Lecturer in Audiology and Academic Practice Officer for the Leicester School of Allied Health Sciences. My work focuses on developing and enhancing teaching, learning, and assessment within audiology education, supporting a diverse range of students including mature learners, career changers, and apprentices.

I am particularly interested in innovative and evidence-based approaches that improve the student learning experience. Beyond my teaching role, I actively contribute to broader educational quality and governance through external examining and professional body engagement, including my ongoing work as a Lead Visitor for the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). As BSA Online Learning Group Lead.

I am pleased to use my skills and experience to support the development and delivery of high-quality online learning opportunities for the audiology community.

Throughout my career I have been involved with BSA having been a member since 1975. I have served on council in the past as chair of the programme committee, lead editor of BSA news and Scottish representative.

I started my career in audiology in 1975 as a student audiologist. After qualifying in 1977 I moved to Edinburgh and worked as an audiologist/senior audiologist until 1985 when I moved to Fife as head of audiology for Fife.

While working in Fife I obtained a B Sc (Hons) in health studies followed by a Masters in Audiology and was regraded to principal clinical scientist. In 2000 I qualified as a counsellor and hearing aid dispenser. I left my post as head of service to take up a lectureship in Audiology at Queen Margaret University (QMU) in Edinburgh in 2005. I became a Senior lecturer and programme leader in 2006 with responsibility for managing a range of programmes from the hearing aid dispenser diploma to an M Sc in Audiology. I worked at QMU until 2019, during this time I completed my PhD. I am still affiliated to the Clinical Audiology Speech and Language research Centre (CASL) at QMU.

It is an honour to now represent BSA as the trustee for external relations.

It has been a long time since I worked in audiology and as I am now retired, I wonder what use I will be in this role. So many things have changed since I left the workplace because technology has altered, but the basic tenets are still the same, the issues are just in a different time frame. My travelling fellowship to Iowa and Holland gave me a new perspective which I hope I have kept with me over the years. I have had a long career in the field in many areas including research, clinical assessments, tinnitus, medico legal expert witness work. I have also been privileged to work with vulnerable and learning disabled clients many of whom taught me more than they will ever know. Direct personal experience and understanding of the role of the ‘significant other’ is being married to a hearing aid user.

I am thrilled to be involved in the leadership team for the BSA and hope I bring to the role experience, passion, and knowledge gleaned over my 30+ years as an audiological researcher based in the US, Denmark and UK. Along the way, in addition to my research, I have managed an audiology education, outreach and dissemination program, organized international conferences, held positions of leadership in professional societies, and collaborated with colleagues across the world. These roles have given me insight into audiology practices outside the UK, a wide network of global contacts with whom I can work, and the skills to effect action – all of which I now apply to my roles at BSA.

I am thrilled to take on the role of the Early Career Professionals Lead Trustee within the BSA. My foremost goal in this position is to be an advocate for Early Career Professionals and students, ensuring that their voices resonate throughout the society and that they feel integral to this community. My journey into audiology and related hearing health practice occurred as a natural progression driven by my research interests. I am currently pursuing a PhD at the Ear Institute, University College London, where my research focuses on addressing hearing loss and cognitive health, together, in older adults in clinical practice. My first-hand experiences within the hearing health field, both via research and directly interacting with the audiological profession, have provided me with a stimulating outlook on audiology related practice, as well as having the opportunity to remain up to date with the latest hearing and balance related research. Discovering the pivotal role that the BSA plays in supporting Early Career Professionals and students, like myself, has fueled my enthusiasm to embark on this journey of working collaboratively alongside my fellow trustees and council members to promote the growth of Early Career Professionals and students within the society.

I became a trustee in 2024 and am delighted to be able to bring my experience in both education and as a clinician to the BSA, helping to form and implement best practice and guidance for our members and our profession more generally.

I am currently Director and Consultant Audiologist at Kent Hearing and am also lead audiologist at West Kent NHS Community ENT Service. Prior to starting my own practice, I spent 7 years as Director of Education, Senior Lecturer and researcher at UCL’s Ear Institute in London.  Other previous roles include Head of Audiology in hospitals in both the NHS and private sectors and a member of the scientific advisory board for the BEAR Project in Denmark. I have lectured extensively both in the UK and aboard and am the sections editor for ENT & Audiology News.