Mission
The British Society of Otology (BSO) is dedicated to the development of otology and the advancement of public education and research on hearing and balance in the United Kingdom. In addition to the BSO Annual meeting, the Society runs educational courses, maintaining professional development in the diverse fields of the sub-speciality.
Role
The Society also has the role of advising ENT UK and the Department of Health on matters relating to otology and audiology. The BSO council is elected by BSO members and meets three times a year at the Royal Society of Medicine.
Membership
Membership of the Society is open to any otologist practising in the United Kingdom who is a member of ENT UK, with associate membership offered to trainees in otology and other professionals with an interest in the sub-specialty.
Overseas membership is offered to approved otologists practising abroad. Membership of the BSO is without charge. To download an application form please visit our membership page.
Peter Monksfield - President

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Peter Monksfield
President
Peter Monksfield is a Consultant ENT Surgeon with a special interest in skull base surgery and hearing implants. He was appointed at the University Hospital Birmingham in 2010 and is also an honorary senior clinical lecturer at the University of Birmingham.
Peter graduated from the University of Manchester Medical School in 1997. Peter had ENT training in Oxford, London and completed higher surgical training in Birmingham and the West Midlands.
Following this, he undertook advanced fellowship training in Neurotology and cochlear implant surgery at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne, Australia under the tutelage of Professor Robert Briggs.
Peter has a strong research interest in hearing loss and the use of implanted hearing devices.
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Arun Iyer - President-elect
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Arun Iyer
President-elect
Mr Iyer is a consultant ENT surgeon & otologist at the University Hospital Monklands, Lanarkshire, Scotland and also Associate Professor (Hon) at the University of Glasgow. He was trained in the Newcastle rotation and did Otology/Neurotology fellowship at Auckland City Hospital and Starship Children's Hospital, New Zealand. His special interests are endoscopic ear surgery, chronic otitis media especially mastoid cavity obliteration and management of dizziness. He is a executive board member of the international working group in endoscopic ear surgery (IWGEES). Mr Iyer is the college surgical tutor & Education and professional training board member for Otolaryngology at the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow. He is the organiser of the Endoscopic ear surgery course, emergency ENT dissection course, head & neck and emergency ENT course and the temporal bone dissection courses at Glasgow University.
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Simon Lloyd - Past President

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Simon Lloyd
Past President
Simon Lloyd is a neuro-otologist and skull base surgeon at the Manchester Royal Infirmary and Salford Royal Hospital. He is also Honorary Professor of Neuro-otology at the University of Manchester. His clinical practice focuses on skull base disease, auditory implantation, complex middle ear disease and neurofibromatosis type 2.
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Matthew Smith - Secretary
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Matthew Smith
Secretary
Mr Matthew Smith is a consultant ENT surgeon at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust. He specialises in the medical and surgical management of disorders of hearing and balance in adults and children, and is part of the Cambridge Hearing Implant multidisciplinary team which is part of the UK’s largest cochlear implant centre. Mr Smith has a particular interest in Eustachian tube dysfunction runs a specialist clinic for this condition.
Mr Smith is a surgeon-scientist, and holds the position of Senior Research Associate in the University of Cambridge. He collaborates across a range of University departments and leads a portfolio of clinical research projects, with most focussing on hearing and ear disorders. He completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge exploring the diagnosis and treatment of Eustachian tube disorders. During his specialist Training Mr Smith co-founded and then Chaired INTEGRATE, the UK ENT Trainee Research Network, which has delivered several important national studies.
Mr Smith is a member of the British Society of Otology council and is the Otology section Associate Editor for the well-respected Clinical Otolaryngology Journal. He has published book chapters and has authored over 60 academic papers.
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Jonny Harcourt - Treasurer
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Jonny Harcourt
Treasurer
Jonny Harcourt (MA Oxon) MBBS (hons) FRCS, Consultant Otologist and Skullbase surgeon, Charing Cross and Chelsea and Westminster Hospitals, London.
I have been a Consultant Otologist/Neurotologist for 24 years at Charing Cross (Imperial NHS Trust). I have previously been president of the British Skullbase Society, committee member of the British Society of Neurotology and multiple roles on the Otology section of the RSM as well as being a faculty member of the Combined Universities Advanced Otology course for more than 20 years. I have a particular interest in Ménière’s disease.
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Paramita Baruah - Academic Lead
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Paramita Baruah
Academic lead
Paramita Baruah was appointed Consultant ENT Surgeon at the University Hospitals of Leicester in 2018. She studied medicine at JIPMER Pondicherry India and ENT at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. She completed higher surgical training in ENT in the West Midlands Deanery and undertook an implant and lateral skull base fellowship in Birmingham, UK. She has an active clinical practice in adult and paediatric otology. She has a strong interest in research and undertook a PhD in Immunology in Milan, Italy and a post-doctoral fellowship at Imperial College London. She is currently an Honorary Senior Clinical Research fellow with the University of Birmingham with ongoing research on immune responses in vestibular schwannoma, head and neck paraganglioma, necrotising otitis externa and cholesteatoma.
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Priya Achar - Academic Lead
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Priya Achar
Academic Lead
Priya Achar is a consultant ENT surgeon with special interest in Otology, Hearing implants and Skull base surgery in Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust since 2018. She also participates in Undergraduate Medical School teaching in University of Nottingham and in higher surgical training in ENT in East Midlands deanery.
Priya graduated from Mumbai University, India in 1999 and completed her postgraduate training in ENT from Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, Mumbai University to become a consultant in 2003. She migrated to UK in 2004 and underwent higher surgical training in Mersey and Northwest deanery. She subsequently undertook fellowships in Complex Otology and hearing implants in Guys and St Thomas Hospital, London and in Lateral Skull Base surgery and Hearing Implants in Salford Hospital and Manchester University Hospitals.
She has a strong interest in Education and training.
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Charlie Huins - Academic Lead
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Charlie Huins
Academic Lead
Charlie Huins is a consultant at the University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) in Birmingham.
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Owen Judd - Balance Course Lead
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Owen Judd
Balance Course Lead
Professor Owen Judd is Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon at the Royal Derby Hospital. He qualified from the University of Nottingham in 1998. His special interests are Otology and Laryngology, specifically balance problems, facial pain and migraine along with facial paralysis/weakness. He performs total endoscopic ear surgery for all aspects of his otology surgical practice. His research interests include migraine, balance problems and voice disorders and he has published over 60 scientific papers, 6 book chapters and two text books. He teaches many medical students and junior doctors and holds an honorary academic position with the University of Nottingham as well as serving as their Clinical Sub-Dean.
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Will Hellier - BSO Council Member
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Will Hellier
BSO Council member
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Mood Bhutta - BSO Council Member
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Mood Bhutta
BSO Council member
Mahmood is the inaugural chair in ENT ant Brighton & Sussex Medical School. His research includes broad aspects of ear and hearing care (including in low resource settings) and sustainable healthcare.
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Sanjay Verma - BSO Council Member
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Sanjay Verma
BSO Council member
Sanjay Verma is a Consultant neuro-otologist and Skull Base surgeon at the Leeds Teaching hospitals NHS Trust. He studied at St John's College, Cambridge, with further training in the Cambridge region. He has also undertaken Fellowship training in Toronto, Canada, and the Causse clinic in Beziers, France. He has busy adult and paediatric ENT practises, with subspecialist interests in laser ear surgery and implantable hearing devices. Sanjay is also Clinical Lead at Leeds for the Skull Base (Acoustic neuroma) ENT service and the Joint ENT/ Neurology balance clinic.
He is committed to training the next generation of surgeons. He has been the appointed Royal College of Surgeons Tutor for Leeds and, presently, he is Educational Lead for the Head and Neck Directorate. Nationally, he also serves on the ENT UK committee for Global Health.
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Ananth Vijendren - BSO Council Member
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Ananth Vijendren
BSO Council member
Mr Ananth Vijendren is a Consultant ENT Surgeon with a sub-specialty interest in adult and paediatric ear-related diseases, balance and hearing reconstruction/implantation. He qualified from the University of Southampton and undertook his postgraduate training in the Wessex and East of England regions. He was awarded the internationally prestigious Otology and Hearing Implant fellowship at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, where he gained further experience in complex ear, hearing reconstruction and auditory implantation surgery before joining the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust in 2019. His clinical practice involves being lead for the trust hearing, balance and transnasal oesophagoscopy services. In addition to his clinical work, Mr Vijendren is enthusiastic about advancements and research within the field of Otology and occupational hazards affecting ENT surgeons. He has a keen interest in teaching and training the next generation of clinicians and is Otology section editor for E-lefent and co-creator / Senior Editor for the www.entsho.com and www.ent4gp.com websites.
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Nick Saunders - BSO Council member
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Nick Saunders
BSO Council member
I am an Intercollegiate examiner, council member of the Otology section of the RSM and ENT clinical lead for Sussex ICS. I would love to help forge closer links between the BSO and the RSM, and to help represent otology in one of the most challenging times in the NHS’s history.
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Joe Manjaly - BSO Council Member
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Joe Manjaly
BSO Council member
Joe Manjaly works as a consultant at University College London (UCL) in London.
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Bhav Patel - BSO Council Member
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Bhav Patel
BSO Council member
Bhav is a Consultant ENT Surgeon with a particular interest in awake ear surgery, endoscopic ear surgery, and hearing restoration. He qualified from Imperial College London, followed by basic and higher surgical training across the North Thames region of London. He has further developed his practice through observational and hand on visits to international leading centres in Vienna, Copenhagen, France, Italy, and Nepal.
He is based at Northwick Park Hospital, where he performs a high volume of stapes (approx. 50/year) and tympanomastoid (approx. 40/year) procedures, alongside a growing auditory implant service, which he helped establish through the introduction of bone conduction hearing implants. He also maintains an active interest in sinus surgery and olfactory disorders.
Bhav has a particular interest in surgical innovation. His work has included the introduction of robotic microscope technology to ENT practice, the use of shoulder exoskeletons in surgery, and the development of novel techniques in awake endoscopic ear surgery. His particular interests include the deconstruction and cultivation dexterity, crafts based simulation, the role mental performance in surgery and surgical wellness.
In parallel with his clinical work, Bhav is committed to education and training. He holds a Master’s degree (with Distinction) in Surgical Education from Imperial College and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He serves as Academic Tutor at Imperial College and Specialty Lead at Brunel Medical School. He champions the ‘flipped classroom’ pedagogical approach in ENT and has created two educational YouTube channels—ENT Flashcards and London ENT Surgery—which support ENT trainees both in the UK and internationally.
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Rob Grounds - BSO Council Member
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Rob Grounds
BSO Council member
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Ben Silver - BSO Council Member
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Ben Silver
BSO Council member
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