The Department of Neuro-otology provides a specialist national service for the diagnosis, investigation, management and rehabilitation of complex, auditory, vestibular and voice disorders, including skull base surgery. The service is provided on an outpatient basis but also includes care of inpatients at the NHNN and other units of the Trust.
The department benefits from a multidisciplinary team including audio-vestibular physicians, otolaryngologists, audiologists, a specialist nurse, a cognitive behavioural therapist and a speech and language therapist and provides an integrated rehabilitation programme with both clinical and research physiotherapists.
We care for patients with:
- Auditory processing disorders
- Autoimmune inner ear disease
- Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
- Central vestibular disorders
- Cerebellopontine angle lesions
- Labyrinthitis
- Menière’s disease
- Migrainous vertigo
- Sensorineural hearing loss
- Vestibular neuritis
- Voice disorders
We see approximately 2,500 patients per year.
Patients are treated:
- - within six weeks for routine referrals
- - within two weeks for urgent referrals
- - approximately six months for routine vestibular physiotheapy rehabilitation.
We do offer dedicated experienced audiologist and CBT support within our unit. We are aiming to appoint a nurse specialist and provide dedicated physiotherapy within the near future.
We provide opinions on relevant disorders for inpatients for whom we are not primarily responsible, occasionally we admit patients under the treatment of our neurological colleagues, for intensive rehabilitation.
After diagnosis, we provide a comprehensive management package, which may be organised within the unit or locally through the GP. Depending upon the diagnosis and local facilities, follow-up consultations may be required.