In January 2019, audiologist Kayleigh Eccles marked four years at The Brian Eccles Hearing Centre. Although she is often seen front-of-house as the face of the business, Kayleigh is far more than just a receptionist and administrator. She is, in fact, a fully qualified audiologist with a wide range of skills and experience.
Kayleigh’s Qualifications and Experience
Kayleigh joined the business in 2015 as a trainee audiologist, having graduated with a degree in English from Nottingham Trent University. Since then, she has qualified both as an audiologist and in micro-suction ear wax removal.
Audiology
Audiology is a difficult career to detail in only a few lines. It can be a challenging profession where you put your knowledge to good use with people of all ages and various environments. Wide-ranging duties include, but are not limited to, helping and rehabilitating people with hearing loss or balance disorders. For Kayleigh, this is the most rewarding part of her job. She loves helping people with hearing problems to improve their quality of life and enjoy greater interaction with loved ones.
Opportunities for an Audiologist
Many exciting opportunities exist in this field because audiology is a rapid moving and varied discipline. It suits those with a background in science and technology, electronics, and speech and language. The latter is of particular interest to Kayleigh, given her educational background. A wish to work with and help people is key and forms the most important element of training and the job.
Skills and Qualities of an Audiologist
Amongst the requirements for an audiologist are the ability to communicate with all types of people. This is because some patients will find their failing hearing worrying and stressful. Therefore a caring and sympathetic attitude are a vital element of the role. Manual dexterity, decent problem-solving skills and sharp analytical skills are also valuable attributes. Kayleigh’s patients will surely agree that she ticks all of these boxes!
Earwax Removal
Kayleigh has lost track of how many ears she has cleaned since she qualified at the beginning of last year. All ears are different. Some will have hard impacted wax that will require patience and persistence. Others will have softer wax that may be equally time-consuming. The differences in the shape and size of the ear canal contribute to the complexity of the procedure. For Kayleigh, it’s all in a day’s work. The relief when a patient can hear clearly or loses the pressure in their ears can be gratifying.
Audiologist Clinics and Home Visits
Kayleigh enjoys the chance to attend the practice’s clinics in Northampton and Bedford. In addition, she also regularly visits patients with limited mobility in their own homes. This allows her to meet a wider range of people and provide the businesses hallmark sympathetic care.
New Technology and Advances
In the relatively short time that Kayleigh has been an audiologist, she has noticed huge advances in hearing technology. When she attended the launch of Phonak’s Marvel range last year, she was able to witness this first hand. Modern hearing aids feature connectivity with Bluetooth devices, remote adjustment and unparalleled richness of sound. Kayleigh has noted that older patients are embracing this new technology. At the same time, younger people are becoming aware of the dangers of loud noise and are looking to protect their ears.
Advice from Audiologist Kayleigh Eccles
One of the key pieces of advice that Kayleigh offers is to take immediate action if you have a suspected hearing loss. She advises:
The first thing to do is to just get it looked at! Because, although it might make you nervous to think that there’s something wrong with your hearing it could be simple as there’s a blockage of wax which is then a quick fix. If not, rather than trying to deny it, or pretend it’s not happening you’re better to get your hearing tested. Early intervention is always better, rather than letting it get too bad and isolating yourself.
You can contact Kayleigh at The Brian Eccles Hearing Centre on 0800 083 2547.