An update on the understanding and management of tinnitus

Ms Beth-Anne Mancktelow is an Audiologist and Hearing Therapist with a primary interest in tinnitus. She led the hearing therapy service at St George’s prior to moving into independent practice. Ms Beth-Anne Mancktelow has a keen interest in research and was part of the committee that produced the The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on tinnitus. She uses a range of approaches to manage tinnitus.

Mr Gerard Kelly is a Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon who works in Leeds Teaching Hospitals (LTHT) NHS Trust and specializes in otology and neuro - in both adults and children. He is the clinical director of the head and neck clinical services unit in LTHT (ENT, maxillo-facial surgery and ophthalmology). He was appointed consultant in 2001. He successfully completed the Virginia Mason Advanced Lean Training in 2018. His most recent interest is endoscopic middle ear and mastoid surgery, a major advance in ENT in recent years. He was awarded an MD from the University of Edinburgh in 2002 on the topic of the facial nerve and an MEd from Leeds University. He is an elected member of the council of the British Society of Otology (BSO) and runs the BSO balance course. He has a large medico-legal practice (both person injury and negligence work) and provides reports for both claimants, defendants and as a single joint expert. He frequently opines on cases of alleged tinnitus in medico-legal cases.

Stefan studied physics at the University of Würzburg in Germany and conducted a PhD thesis in hearing science and psychoacoustics at the Universities of Göttingen and Oldenburg. He joined Phonak in 1995 as a member of the research team. During his career at Phonak, now Sonova, Professor Stefan Launer managed various teams including Audiological Engineering, Digital Signal Processing & Microelectronics and Acoustic Design. In his current role, he leads the Audiology and Health Innovation program within the Sonova organization. Professor Stefan Launer also holds an Adjunct Professorship in Audiology and Hearing Instrument technology at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

Professor David Baguley is a Clinical Academic, leading the Clinical Hearing Sciences team at the University of Nottingham who conduct research on issues of hearing loss, tinnitus, hyperacusis, and ototoxicity. He has published over 200 academic papers, 5 books, and has received grant award funding from major health research funders and has acted as chief investigator on clinical research studies involving multidisciplinary project teams. He has been awarded the British Tinnitus Association Research Prize on 5 occasions and has been awarded prizes from also the British Society of Audiology, the American Academy of Audiology, and the Royal Society of Medicine Section of Otology.

Professor David Baguley undertakes a weekly NHS Out Patient Clinic as an Honorary Consultant Clinical Scientist, and advises on complex/severe cases seen by the Tinnitus team.

Mr Patrick Axon is an otologist and skull base surgeon at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. In addition to his clinical and research interest in the fields of otology and hearing implantation, he has developed an interest in the management of refractory idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) and associated symptoms and pathologies. These include pulsatile tinnitus, superior semi-circular canal dehiscence, tegmen dehiscence and jugular sheath pathology including Eagle’s syndrome.

Professor Tobias Kleinjung, MD, is the head of the outpatient section at the Otorhinolaryngology department at the University Hospital of Zurich/Switzerland. He also serves as Professor at the University of Zurich. He has a clinical focus in otology and neurotology including the treatment of tinnitus, sudden deafness and diseases of salivary glands. His current focus of research includes new treatment strategies in sudden hearing loss and tinnitus, treatment of chronic tinnitus with neuromodulation (TMS, neurofeedback), neuroimaging of tinnitus, understanding the mechanisms of auditory neuroplasticity and the value of cochlear implantation in single sided deafness,

He has published over 100 peer reviewed papers, written 14 book chapters and has served as editor of two major textbooks on tinnitus ("Textbook of Tinnitus", Springer, 2011; "Tinnitus -Pathophysiology and Treatment", Elsevier, 2007)