Paediatric Audio-vestibular Medicine provide investigation, diagnosis and management of the medical aspect of disorders of hearing, balance and tinnitus in children. The service consists of a multi-professional team and is located at The Royal National ENT & Eastman Dental Hospital.

Who do we see?

  • Children from birth to 19 years of age with all kinds of deafness and hearing disorders: hearing difficulties, hearing loss, deafness (stable or progressive), tinnitus, auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder, auditory processing difficulties/disorder, hyperacusis.
  • Children under five years of age with speech and language delay where hearing loss is questioned
  • Children with vertigo, dizziness and balance disorders

  • Diagnostic testing of babies referred from the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme (NHSP) and subsequent investigation and management.

  • Hearing evaluation: visual reinforcement audiometry, pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, oto-acoustic emissions, speech perception tests, stapedial reflexes, auditory brain-stem evoked response for threshold and latencies, cortical evoked response audiometry.
  • Medical and multidisciplinary assessment of hearing, listening and balance difficulties.
  • Support and counselling for children with a hearing loss and their families.
  • Assessment of speech, language, communication, education, and development of language, speech and listening skills if indicated
  • Vestibular assessment if indicated
  • Psychological support and assessment if indicated

  • Medical investigations of cause of deafness or imbalance and vertigo including urine, blood, scans
  • Medical management of treatable conditions identified including ‘glue ear’ (otitis media with effusion) and vertigo
  • Hearing aid prescription and fitting
  • Advice on development of hearing, listening, language and communication skills
  • Advice on medical and surgical management of deafness
  • Advice on choices about communication and education available to families of deaf children
  • Information about local and national support groups /societies
  • Management/advice about vertigo and balance disorders.

Audiovestibular physicians, audiologists, specialist nurses, play leader, specialist speech & language therapist for the deaf, specialist teacher of the deaf, clinical psychologists

  • NHS e-Referral Service (formally Choose and Book referrals)
  • General practitioners (GPs)
  • Consultant paediatricians
  • ENT surgeons
  • Second tier community audiology clinics
  • Audiovestibular physicians
  • NHSP programme

Clinics are held on a daily basis.

General enquiries

Service management

Address

Royal National ENT & Eastman Dental Hospitals
47-49 Huntley Street
London
WC1E 6DG

Referral

Other referral information

We accept referrals from GPs and also Consultant referrals from other hospitals. 

Useful information
Due to the specialist tertiary nature of our clinics, we do receive significant numbers of referrals and therefore unless urgent (for example for new born hearing loss) there may be a waiting time before a child is seen and assessed.

What we treat

Medical assessment and aetiological investigations of a variety of hearing and balance disorders are carried out. Hearing disorders include tinnitus, hyperacusis, misophonia, genetic or acquired hearing loss and auditory processing disorder. In some of these cases (for example patients with additional clinical needs, requiring MDT management or hearing aid provision) rehabilitation may require further internal referrals.
Children with speech and language disorders are also assessed at a tertiary level for conditions such as dyspraxia. 
 

Referral criteria / acceptance criteria
Exclusions:
Adults over 18years of age

Suggested investigations: 

  • Ears to be clear of wax if possible; olive oil or sodium bicarbonate ear drops could be considered for children as appropriate 
  • We are grateful for detailed referrals to be made with relevant documentation available so that appropriate triaging and management decisions can be facilitated
     

Referral address

Royal National ENT & Eastman Dental Hospitals
47-49 Huntley Street
London
WC1E 6DG

Consultants