Sarah Baumann, from the Auditory Implant Service, has won the coveted title of UK Audiologist of the Year 2015, after a heartfelt nomination from one of her patients.

The competition is run in partnership between the hearing aid battery manufacturer, Rayovac (a division of Spectrum Brands (UK) Ltd), international hearing publication Audio Infos and the European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA). Patients who received exceptional care were invited to nominate their audiologist for the prestigious award – the biggest of its kind in the world.

Sarah was nominated by her patient Sarah Smith, who described in her entry how her audiologist had been by her side throughout her hearing journey, as she was fitted with a cochlear implant. Sarah’s dedication to her patient’s recovery and her consistent support led the judges to announce her as the winner.

The Auditory Implant Service (formerly South of England Cochlear Implant Centre) was established in 1990 to help severely to profoundly deaf adults and children. Since the programme began, surgeons have implanted over 1,000 devices and currently supports over 580 adults and 300 children with a cochlear implant; over 250 are using two implants.

Sarah Baumann says: “All of the staff at the Auditory Implant Service work extremely hard to make sure our patients receive a high standard of care and it is wonderful to have this recognised by the AoTY award.”