Who’s who?

As a person passionate about audiology I am delighted to take on the position of Chair for the BSA. Historically, I was Chair of the Professional Guidance Group, leading the update and development of the BSA documents including the Recommended Procedures and Practice Guidance. Following that I became Vice Chair supporting the work of the Special Interest Groups and leading the BSA awards. For the past 7 years I have been a senior Lecturer at De Montfort University in Leicester where I teach and lead modules in both the BSc Healthcare Science (Audiology) and Hearing Dispenser Apprenticeship programme. My audiological career began as a clinician in the NHS, later moving to one of the hearing aid suppliers to support both NHS and retail customers with their audiological and training needs. I also worked at Sense, a national charity that supports and campaigns for adults and children with congenital or acquired deafblindness embedding assistive technology through training and research.

Over the past 24 years, 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 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

It’s with a real sense of déjà vu, that I led the development of the second BSA website in 2023. This after I initiated and led the development of our first BSA professional website in 2014. The BSA website houses the International Journal of Audiology (IJA) (jointly owned by the BSA, the International Society of Audiology and the Nordic Audiology Society) and the BSA‘s internationally cited guidance documents. These documents, the gold standard followed in the UK, undergo rigorous external peer review and public consultation. Our website also offers a great variety of learning opportunities, including conferences and training events, online learning, as well as resources, a dynamic research interface and Audacity, our magazine.

Alongside this, I serve as a steering member on the international IJA Council and have chaired the APD SIG (2011-2014), a role to which I have again returned in recent years. Our SIG, the first of the BSA SIGs, has excelled and shaped international thinking. We have published several BSA peer-reviewed practice guidance documents, and the first-ever ‘APD White Paper’ (2013) with an international set of commentaries in the IJA. We offer online learning opportunities and are currently working on two new guidance documents and a new white paper with international partners. I was delighted to be awarded the BSA Ruth Spencer Prize (2016) for ‘Contribution to the field of APD’, a BSA 50th Anniversary Award (2017) for ‘Outstanding contribution to the BSA and the field of Audiology’ and BSA Principal Fellow status in 2020. It is exciting to be a part of the BSA and rewarding to contribute to the field of Audiology.

Professorial Fellow, University of Southampton

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.

Since 2017 I have helped promote best practice in Audiology as a member of the Learning Events Group, and then Chair for the Online Learning Group. My aim is to promote audiological best practice through conversations and learning between clinicians, researchers and policy makers, and to create an enjoyable and accessible learning space for them. I have a small, dedicated team who liaise with the BSA Special Interest Groups, researchers and clinicians to provide a full range of topics.

I currently lecture at De Montfort University, teaching clinical skills, professional practice and anatomy and physiology. Prior to that, I worked in adult audiology for 20 years both in the NHS and private sectors. I specialise in tinnitus and complex adult audiology.

After graduating I worked as an audiologist in various NHS departments between 2008-2022, specialising in adult hearing rehabilitation, tinnitus management and hearing implantation. In 2022 I left the NHS to join MED-EL as a clinical specialist and business development manager. My work focuses on improving people’s lives through specialist hearing care.

I first became actively involved with the BSA in 2016 when I joined the then Learning and Events Group. In 2019 I became a BSA Trustee and Conference Group lead. I am also a member of the BSA Research Development Group, Tinnitus and Hyperacusis SIG reference group and Bone Conduction Middle Ear implant SIG reference group.

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 a paediatric audiologist and have worked in the private, public and charity sectors. I am currently postdoctoral research audiologist at the University of Cambridge and a Lecturer at UCL Ear Institute. I completed my PhD at UCL Ear Institute in 2022 and my research interests include spatial hearing, developing effective ear and hearing care services in low resource settings, and improving accessibility in UK healthcare.

I have been a Trustee of the BSA since 2019 and I am passionate about bringing together a wide variety of professionals, patients and members of the public to improve our field. In my Trustee role I lead on matters regarding Membership, EDI and the BSA Fellowship Scheme.

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 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 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 fuelled 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.