The otology department at Lister Hospital provides comprehensive diagnostic and surgical services for adults and children with ear-related conditions. Our team of specialist ENT consultants offers expert care for both common and complex disorders of the ear, hearing, and balance system, including advanced neuro-otology.
Conditions we treat
- Hearing loss including emergency sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss
- Tinnitus
- Ear pain
- Ear discharge
- Balance problems / vertigo
- Eustachian tube dysfunction
- Facial paralysis
- Emergency ear conditions (e.g. Mastoiditis)
- Glue ear
- Tympanic membrane perforation
- Cholesteatoma
- Wax removal
- Acoustic neuroma/vestibular schwannoma
- Temporal bone meningoencephaloceles and CSF leaks
- Osteoradionecrosis of ear
- Ear/temporal bone cancers
- Malignant otitis externa/Skull base osteomyelitis
Surgical procedures
- Grommet insertion
- Balloon dilatation of the eustachian tubes
- Cholesteatoma surgery (mastoidectomy)
- Tympanoplasty
- Ossiculoplasty
- Middle ear reconstruction
- Ossicular chain reconstruction/stapedotomy
- Bone-conducting hearing implant surgery
- Active and passive middle ear implant surgery
- Intra-tympanic steroid injections for sudden hearing loss and Meniere’s disease
- Subtotal petrosectomies and blind sac closures
- Temporal bone resections
- Transmastoid CSF/meningoencephalocele repairs
- Laser ear surgery
Specialist otology clinics
- Vertigo/Balance Clinic
- Facial Palsy Clinic – run jointly with Rhinology, Plastics, Opthalmology, Neurophysiology and Physiotherapy service
- Dewaxing Clinic (Nurse-led)
- Post-operative Grommet Clinic (Nurse-led)
- Post-operative Suture Removal Clinic (Nurse-led)
- Hearing implant clinic (Otology nurse specialist-led)
Multidisciplinary teams (MDTs)
We offer a Specialist Hearing MDT for both children and adults with complex hearing loss, involving audiologists, ENT consultants, and other allied professionals to ensure coordinated, personalised care.
We are also part of a pan-region wide complex otology MDT involving Cambridge, East Kent, Kings’ Lynn, Southend, Broomfield, Romford and Kettering where complex otology cases are discussed
We work closely with the Skull Base MDT and Emmeline Hearing implant centre in Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge where cases are discussed and referred to.
Consultant team
Mr. S. James Quinn, MBBS, FRCS (ORL)
Mr. S. James Quinn is a highly experienced Consultant ENT Surgeon who has been serving at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust since 1998. He trained in ENT surgery in London and Cambridge, developing a special interest in ear surgery, hearing loss, balance disorders, and paediatric ENT. Throughout his career, Mr. Quinn has held several leadership roles, including Medical Director at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust and Regional Medical Director for NHS Improvement.
Mr. Ananth Vijendren, BM, MRCS, FRCS (ORL-HNS), PhD
Mr. Ananth Vijendren is a Consultant ENT Surgeon with a sub-specialty interest in adult and paediatric ear-related diseases, balance disorders, and hearing reconstruction. He graduated from the University of Southampton and completed his postgraduate surgical and ENT training within the Wessex and East of England regions. In 2019, he joined East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust after completing the prestigious Otology and Hearing Implant fellowship at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. Mr. Vijendren has a keen interest in research, having completed a PhD focusing on occupational hazards affecting ENT surgeons, and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals.
