My job involves the diagnosis of hearing and balance disorders. I work with patients of all ages, including babies and children as well as adults and elderly people. One important part of my job involves being the medical lead for the Portsmouth and Isle of Wight Newborn Hearing Screening Programme.
Every baby born in the UK is routinely screened for hearing problems at or within four weeks of birth. If any problems are detected detailed testing is done by the audiologist. Babies with a confirmed permanent hearing loss are referred to me, and it’s my role to explore any underlying medical cause.
There are many reasons why babies have hearing loss and I undertake an initial history and examination to guide appropriate investigations. The investigations may include genetic testing, blood tests, CT and/ or MRI scans. I work closely with other specialists as part of a multidisciplinary team, which includes paediatricians, clinical geneticists, ENT surgeons and cardiologists.
Helping parents to accept that their child has hearing loss and encouraging them to accept treatment where possible is also part of my job. So there is an element of counselling.
Adults who are referred to me often have dizziness or balance problems, and may have been suffering for some years without an adequate diagnosis. I assess new patients using a variety of clinical examinations to determine the cause of their dizziness. For many patients the cause is an inner ear disturbance, for others something quite different such as migraine. I sometimes refer patients for further assessment by a neurologist. I also see children who suffer with dizziness.
Treatment can range from suitable medication to rehabilitation exercises that help the patient overcome their dizziness. I often refer patients to a physiotherapist who can help patients learn the exercises properly.
The other main part of my job is seeing adults with hearing loss. I investigate the underlying medical problems that may be the cause of their hearing loss, which can be very wide-ranging and include immunological problems.
Keeping up with my own professional development is an important part of my job as a consultant. As well as reading and reviewing research journals I attend and make presentations conferences.
Audiovestibular medicine is a very small speciality, and here at Portsmouth I don’t have any trainees to supervise. This would be different if I was working in London or Manchester, where most of the trainees are.