BAAP National Audit Meeting

Sabarinath Vijayakumar, ST5 Registrar in Audiovestibular medicine, Royal Derby Hospital.
The British Association of Audiovestibular Physicians (BAAP) hosted its 2025 National Audit Meeting online in June. This meeting brought together members, consultants and trainees in audiovestibular medicine from across the UK.

The meeting opened with a warm welcome from Dr Sreedharan Vijayanand (Consultant Audiovestibular Physician, Epsom & St Helier’s Hospital; Training Programme Director, London Deanery), who emphasised the importance of shared learning through national audit to improve standards of practice and patient outcomes across the specialty.



The academic programme was rich in content, covering a breadth of clinically relevant topics. Lara Carvalho-Sauer (Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital) presented an evaluation of current practice on the use of intra-tympanic steroids in Ménière’s disease, setting the stage for discussion on management approaches.

Learning outcome: IT steroids are generally offered when conservative measures fail, with scope for improved documentation even when treatment is not given.

Roohi Shrivastava (University College London Hospitals – UCLH Adults) followed with an insightful talk on the identification of genetic causes for SNHL in adults through the R67 gene panel test, highlighting the growing impact of molecular diagnostics in adult hearing loss.

Learning outcome: The R67 panel provides valuable diagnostic yield in adults with SNHL, especially where a positive family history of hearing loss or abnormal imaging is present, supporting its wider use in clinical practice.

In the paediatric stream, Natallia Khartyaniuk (UCLH Paediatrics) explored patient and parental attitudes towards hearing aids in the UK, providing clinicians with valuable perspectives from lived experience.

Learning outcome: A significant proportion of families decline hearing aids at diagnosis, highlighting the need for early MDT input, improved education and ongoing support to address stigma and non-compliance.

Safaa Dawabah (Alder Hey Children’s Hospital) presented on the Outcomes of Permanent Childhood Hearing Impairment (PCHI) identified after Newborn Hearing Screening Programme (post NHSP) underlining the significance of early detection and follow-up.

Learning outcome: Ongoing audit, broader data capture, and adherence to BAAP guidelines are vital to improve understanding and management of late-presenting PCHI.

Shobha Rajagopal (UCLH Paediatrics) reviewed referral reasons and timelines for babies who are referred for Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) testing via a non-NHSP pathwayABR babies.

Learning outcome: Ongoing variation in ototoxicity monitoring and referral pathways highlights the need for standardised national guidelines and consistent long-term follow-up.

Matthew Jenkins (Portsmouth University Hospitals) discussed the acute vertigo referral pathway from the emergency department, offering practical reflections for streamlined service delivery.
 Learning outcome: Improved education and adherence to guidelines can enhance ED assessment of dizzy patients, though variability in skills and referral accuracy remains a challenge.

Tarifur Rahman (Great Ormond Street Hospital) shared experiences of documentation of diagnoses and medication using the Trust’s EPICpic system, a timely contribution given the increasing move towards unified electronic health records.

Learning outcome: Investment in eElectronic health record systems such as EPIC like Epic can support safer, more consistent documentation, though clinician engagement and accuracy remain key.

The programme concluded with Maryum Saeed (Whittington Hospital), who presented on ‘Pathway Effectiveness to Paediatric Audiology from NHSP and Other Referral Sources for Newborns’, providing important insights into referral efficiency and service integration for our youngest patients.

Learning outcome: Timely NHSP referrals generally meet national targets, though sleep-dependent ABR challenges and variable CMV testing highlight areas for pathway improvement.

The meeting highlighted the academic wealth and reflective practice within BAAP, providing a platform for clinicians at all stages to present, critique and learn from real-world service evaluations.

This year’s Audit Meeting once again demonstrated BAAP’s commitment to advancing clinical governance, sharing best practice, and strengthening national standards in audiovestibular medicine across the UK.