ENT

Jim Frame, president of the UK Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons and professor at Anglia Ruskin University, said that it does not cover all of the cosmetic surgery operations that happen in the UK because some is carried out by ENT and maxillofacial surgeons, or by non-BAAPS members, especially fillers and Botox.

A UK-wide survey from 2024, distributed by the BAA and ENT UK, the professional body representing ear, nose and throat surgery, found that only 4% of audiologists consider themselves to be well-informed on APD.

And, for those who are 16 years and over, the Royal National ENT and Eastman Hospital is the only NHS provider in England offering a full APD assessment and the waiting list is nine months long.

Labour MPs Sadik Al-Hassan, who is a pharmacist, Cat Eccles, an operating department practitioner, Kevin McKenna, a former nurse, and Dr Peter Prinsley, a consultant ENT surgeon, also signed the letter, along with Tory MPs Dr Luke Evans, a former GP, and Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, a former surgeon.

When I met with an ENT physician following my vault experience, after examining my ears for wax and finding none, he made the suggestion that I might have a neuroma, or flap, which might be blocking sound coming into one or both of my ears.