We provide audiology services for children and young adults ranging from new-born babies up to the age of 18 across the Liverpool, Southport, and West Lancashire areas. As well as aiming to provide an excellent service to families, we are available to offer advice and reassurance, as well as help and support for patients coming to terms with hearing loss, listening deficits, tinnitus/hyperacusis and with balance problems.
In audiology, we work in partnership with the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department and many other departments including oncology, cleft, community paediatrics and speech and language, in order to create an integrated service. For our children with a hearing loss, we work together with the sensory support teams for Liverpool, Sefton and West Lancashire to support children in school.
Our services
We provide a range of services for both hearing and balance which includes:
- National Hearing Screening Programme diagnostic follow up for new-born babies, including management and habilitation for those babies diagnosed with a permanent hearing loss
- Completion of the second school entry hearing screen for children in Liverpool and Sefton as well as both the first and second screen for schools in West Lancashire
- Behavioural hearing assessments and management for children ranging from 6 months to 18 years, including difficult to test and children with complex needs.
- The fitting and maintenance of digital hearing aids
- Hearing aid counselling and habilitation
- The support of children with a temporary hearing loss
- Transition to adult service in partnership with adult audiology services in the Mersey region
- Regional Implantable acoustic devices service (bone conduction and middle ear implant) in partnership with ENT
- Diagnostic specialised auditory electrophysiological tests using melatonin or under general anaesthetic for those children with complex needs that cannot be tested behaviourally
- Consultant led audio vestibular medicine services to test, diagnose and treat hearing loss including genetic hearing loss
- Consultant led services to investigate aetiology (cause) hearing loss
- Consultant led services vestibular assessment, diagnosis and rehabilitation in children from birth to 18 years
- Consultant led services to assess, diagnose and treat hyperacusis/tinnitus
- Consultant led services to assess, diagnose and treat auditory processing disorder that include music therapy
Our clinics
At Alder Hey we provide paediatric hearing assessment for Liverpool, Southport and West Lancashire. As part of this service, we travel to community clinics in order to make our services easily accessible for our patients.
Our main base is within Alder Hey Children’s hospital on the 2nd floor of the outpatient’s department. To check into our appointments please seek Waiting Area 1.2.
Our Outreach clinics include:
- South Liverpool NHS Treatment Centre, 32 Church Road, Garston, L19 2LW
- Yew Tree Medical Centre, Berryford Road, Liverpool, L14 4ED
- May Logan Centre, 294 Knowsley Road, Bootle, L20 5DQ
- Southport Centre for Health and Wellbeing, 44 to 46 Hoghton Street, PR9 0PQ
For referral to audiology please seek a referral from your GP, Health Visitor, Community Nursery Nurse or school Nurse.
We accept referrals for hearing assessments for those children and young adults with GPs in the Liverpool, Sefton and West Lancashire area and the Isle of man (IOM) for babies referred from the IOM new-born hearing screening programme.
We accept appropriate referrals from around the country from consultants, physiotherapists, psychologists and occupational therapists for our tertiary/quaternary medical services for complex hearing losses, genetic hearing losses, tinnitus/hyperacusis, auditory processing disorder and vestibular/balance problems. Please review our referral criteria before proceeding with a referral in order to prevent any delays in treatment.
Referrals by health professionals should be made to: [email protected]
Our Team
Our team consists of two audiovestibular consultants, specialist audiology nurse, highly specialised paediatric audiologists, audiometricians, and admin staff. We are a friendly and supportive department.
Professor Soumit Dasgupta, Consultant Audiovestibular Physician and Clinical Lead
Dr Sudhira Ratnayake, Consultant Audiovestibular Physician
Maureen O’Hare, Audiology Manager
Neera Chopra, Chief Audiologist
Jane Hilliard, Chief Audiologist
Julia Mercer, Chief Audiologist
Laura Strachan, Chief Audiologist
Elizabeth Fleming, Chief Audiologist
Auboney Dineen, Chief Audiologist
Angela Pritchard, Chief Audiologist
John Wong, Chief Audiologist
Emiliana Jesus, Senior Audiologist
Oliver Little, Senior Audiologist
Mohamed Ahmed, Senior Audiologist
Annie McMahon, Senior Audiologist
Wiktoria Glab, Audiologist
Niamh McKenna, Audiologist
Holly Watkins, Audiologist
Diane Parry, Specialist Audiology Nurse
Sue Williamson, Audiometrician
Ann Mawson, Pathway coordinator
Sharon Brown, Pathway coordinator
Rose Moran, Administrator
Get in Touch
For hearing aid malfunctions, basic servicing or to enquire about batteries or supplies please get in contact with our department using our direct phone line or alternatively, you can email our department where our emails are checked every weekday. Batteries can be arranged to be posted out to your home address. Please also let us know if your address, telephone number or GP changes.
Our phone line services are available from 8.00am to 4.00pm Monday to Friday.
Telephone number: 0151 252 5933 or 0151 252 5943
Email: [email protected]