Children’s doctor, Tamsin Holland Brown, showcased an innovative hearing device she created to The Duke of York during an official visit to Cambridge today. Entrepreneurial advances in medical technology are of particular interest to The Duke, and a core focus of HRH’s Pitch@Palace initiative, which amplifies and accelerates the work of entrepreneurs. 

Dr Holland Brown, who works for Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust explained: “In nine out of 10 sufferers, Glue Ear clears up within a year.  Some children are unable to hear well while they have glue ear and this can in turn affect their speech, language, listening and learning abilities. 

“When my daughter experienced glue ear in 2014, I could see she was struggling.  I wanted to find a solution for the many other children being affected by this common condition.  

“In my own time, I set up the Hear Glue Ear research project and put together a cost-effective headset and microphone. The headset uses a bone conduction transducer which transmits sound as a vibration, through the cheekbones directly to the inner ear, missing out the ear drum and any glue ear.”  

Using Bluetooth technology, the headset can connect to a small microphone attached to the lapel of a parent or teacher enabling the child to hear everything being said.  The headset can also connect to an app which was developed with Cambridge Digital Health and the Cambridge Hearing Trust and which is available free of charge from the Apple and Android App Stores: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/hear-glue-ear/id1350364884

The app is designed to help children develop their listening, speaking and auditory processing skills through specially designed songs, games and audiobooks.  It also provides parents access to reliable information about glue ear, speech and language therapy can be uploaded onto the app, and parents are also able to track their child’s progress.

Tamsin’s daughter Lilac – now aged 9 - is in no doubt that the headset helped her enormously: “Mum noticed that when I got a cold or an ear-ache I asked “what” some of the time and got words wrong.  I started school and I wasn’t that good at reading because if I asked the grown ups what the word was maybe I wouldn’t hear it right. It also made spelling difficult. 

“I remember once I thought the teacher said to get my lunch box, and I walked out of class, she hadn’t said that, so I got into trouble. It’s hardest to hear when I’m in a crowded place and that is when I most liked to wear the headset.  Now my glue ear has gone.  I think my mum’s an amazing doctor.  To other children who have glue ear remember it’s the glue ear that’s difficult and not you!”

Looking to the future, Dr Holland Brown said: “We’re aiming for affordable headsets to be available for patients since they are a fraction of the cost of previous bone conduction hearing aids.  This wouldn’t have been possible without generous research funding predominantly from the Cambridge Hearing Trust. The support of many colleagues has also been invaluable, including Josephine Marriage (a leading audiologist and current director of Chear, the Children’s Hearing Evaluation and Amplification Resource), Alex James-Best, Speech and Language Therapist; and Roger Gray (a Cambridge-based ear nose and throat specialist).

“Our local hospital has recently approved the use of the headsets and microphones and we’ve received interest in collaborating on research from Manchester Children’s hospital and abroad.  

“The vision is for the headsets and apps to be available across the NHS as well as hospitals abroad who need more affordable solutions. We shouldn’t let children with glue ear and similar middle ear conditions fall behind with their development, speech or learning. We should create affordable solutions to provide better care and better life chances for these children.”

-Ends-

Editor's notes:

• Glue ear (also known as Otitis Media with Effusion, OME) is where fluid and mucus builds up behind the ear drum in children when they have a cough, cold or ear ache. The fluid behind the ear drum stops sound from transferring to the inner ear (cochlea) which often leaves children with a mild or moderate deafness. 
• Glue Ear affects children in every primary school classroom. 80% of children in the UK have at least one episode of glue ear before the age of 10 years. Data from school hearing screening across Europe identifies 1 in every 10 pupils has Glue Ear. Globally, it is estimated that nearly 1 billion children are affected by Glue Ear.
• The Hear Glue Ear research project identified that children with Glue Ear could hear speech better when wearing the headset (p value <0.001) and was published in Trends in Hearing Journal in August 2019.
• A manufacturer has been identified for the production of the headsets and funding identified to achieve a CE marking (a certification mark that indicates conformity with health, safety, and environmental protection standards).
• Dr Holland Brown and the Hear Glue Ear project:
  - was one of three finalists in the 2018 Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Innovation award
  - won the Child Journal Prize at the 2018 British Association of Community Child Health conference
  - won the overall prize in the national 2019 Forward Healthcare Awards
  - is a finalist in the 2019 UK App Awards (winner to be announced on 26 November 2019)

• Dr Holland Brown secured a place on the 2019 NHS England Clinical Entrepreneur Programme

Photos: 1) Dr Tamsin Brown showcasing the hearing device to HRH The Duke of York 2) Duke of York meeting Dr Tamsin Brown and Delilah O’Riordan who has suffered recurrent Glue Ear and explained to the Duke of York how the hearing device has helped her at school and home 3) Lilac Brown, Dr Tamsin Brown’s daughter when she was originally diagnosed with glue ear (now aged 9) – Lilac was the inspiration for the Hear Glue Ear project