BSA - Key Persons
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- Trustee for External Relations
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- Electrophysiology Special Interest Group Chair
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- Early Career Professionals Lead Trustee
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- Chairman of Research Development Group
I am the Chair of the BSA Research Development Group, and our group aims to support individuals and departments to get involved in clinical research, regardless of expertise, across all types of research involvement.
I am a Senior Lecturer in Audiology at Aston University, where I lead the research modules for our Audiology, Neurosensory and Hearing Therapy postgraduate programmes. I am also the Audiology research workforce lead for the NHS National Institute of Health Research, and the ENT Specialty Lead and Audiology Champion for the West of England Clinical Research Network.
I have a clinical role in the NHS, specialising in paediatric Audiology. My clinical work informs my own research, which examines outcomes and service provision for children with hearing loss and their families.
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- Co - Chair of Adult Rehabilitation Interest Group
I have worked in Audiology since 2001, in North Wales, the Northwest, and West Midlands. In 2009, I studied for a PhD at the University of Manchester and continued in Research and Teaching roles at ManCAD. I set up the BAA/BCIG CI Champions initiative in 2019 and was Chair of the BAA Service Quality Committee between 2020-22. In my last role, I set-up and led an Adapted Adult Audiology service in Salford for adults with a Learning Disability, adults living with Dementia and Autistic adults. I became co-chair of ARIG in March 2023 and I am an active member of CH SIG, including developing the BSA Dementia Specialist Network. I joined CTMUHB in May 2023 as clinical lead. I am passionate about person centred care, evidence-based practice, service-transformation and tackling health inequalities in Audiology.
I am committed to improving adult Audiology services and I love being part of ARIG. I hope to use my time in BSA to improve outcomes and raise standards of care. You can contact me via Twitter @AnnMarieDicki12
Job Titles:
- Trustee ( Membership and EDI )
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.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Paediatric Audiology Interest Group
I have worked in Audiology since 2005 and specialise predominately in Paediatric Assessment and (re)habilitation and Vestibular Assessment. I work at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust as a Consultant Clinical Scientist and Service Manager. I am also Team Leader for the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull. I enjoy the challenges and complexities of testing children and the rewards of seeing children and families thrive when they have the right support.
I completed the Higher Specialist Scientist Training programme in 2022 and my doctorate investigated hearing loss in visually impaired children. I am an examiner for Paediatric Assessment with the British Academy of Audiology Higher Training Scheme programme and have also lectured on the University of Manchester ‘Effective Amplification for Infants and Children' course. I am also a professional volunteer for the National Deaf Children's Society. Outside of work I enjoy swimming, regular gym classes and sing with a choir.
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- Chairman of BSA Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Special Interest Group
I am senior researcher working in tinnitus and hyperacusis research at the University of Nottingham and Chair of the Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Special Interest Group (TH-SIG). I first caught the bug for tinnitus and hyperacusis research during my undergraduate psychology degree and went on to complete a PhD on measuring tinnitus and evaluating outcome measurement tools in 2016 at the University of Nottingham. Since then, my passion for tinnitus and hyperacusis research and wanting to improve the lives of those experiencing tinnitus and hyperacusis has only grown. I have worked closely with clinicians, patients and academic colleagues to explore new measurement techniques, improve knowledge and establish standards in measurement for tinnitus and hyperacusis. I am currently developing a digital intervention to provide self-help, understanding and support for adults experiencing hyperacusis (iSHUSH) and healthcare professionals caring for them.
Most recently, I have been working with the Department of Health and Social care, NHS England and researchers from University of Nottingham, University College London and Manchester BRC to deliver a National Research Action Plan for improving Hearing Loss and Tinnitus research. In 2017, I became a member of the TH-SIG committee where I have actively been involved in the development of the practice guidelines for tinnitus in adults, recommended procedures for Uncomfortable Loudness Levels and presenting TH SIG work at the national conferences. In September 2020, I was nominated and elected to become the Chair of this SIG, where we have now turned our attention towards hyperacusis.
In my role as PGG Chair, I am committed to developing guidelines that are both well-evidenced and offer practical guidance to clinicians, supporting the best possible practice across the audiology profession. I started my career in acoustics, gaining a PhD at the University of Salford, because I was intrigued by human interaction with sound. After years in a business career, I saw the light and retrained in audiology, studying at UCL and Manchester, qualifying as a clinical scientist in the NHS. I am now audiology team lead at Kingston Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, service lead for the balance team, also working in adult and paediatric hearing. I am active in research and have published work focussed on hearing aid fitting for older adults, for whom I'm passionate about improving care. I am currently completing a DClinSci at Manchester University as part of the NHS Higher Scientific Specialist Training (HSST) programme. I like to gain the widest possible input across all parts of our profession to help improve audiology care, supported by the BSA guidelines, so please get in touch with us if you have a view or feel you can help.
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- Chairman of Cognition in Hearing SIG
I am a Senior Lecturer in the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, The University of Manchester. I am a hearing scientist who is committed to delivering research and research impact that will improve the lives of people with hearing loss.
I am the Lead for the "Diagnosis: Disease Clusters" programme within the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre in the Hearing Health theme. This programme aims to improve the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of hearing loss and associated co-morbidities, including dementia.
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.
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- Trustee & Conference Group Lead
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- Professorial Fellow, University of Southampton
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- Trustee ( International Relations ), Member ARIG SIG & Steering Member IJA Council
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.
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- Trustee ( Website ), APD SIG Chair & Steering Member IJA Council
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.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Balance Special Interest Group, Chair
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- Trustee ( Early Careers Professional Support )
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- Trustee & Chair for the Online Learning Group
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- Co - Chair of Adult Rehabilitation Interest Group