CHIEF Paediatric Audiologist at Trafford General Hospital who has shown outstanding dedication to his patients has been awarded Audiologist of the Year by the British Academy of Audiology (BAA).

The awards recognise individuals and teams across the country that have excelled in or shown exceptional commitment to the audiology profession over the past year.

In November, Adam Walker was chosen by BAA, the National Deaf Children’s Society and Phonak out of three finalists to win the award for his outstanding contributions to the industry and dedication to his patients.

Ben Kennedy, Communications Manager for Phonak said: “Adam’s nomination and supporting testimonies really impressed the judges. His application stood out not least because of the number of endorsements from patients but also because the high level of support from his peers and members of the audiology community. Congratulations are definitely in order for such a talented and dedicated individual, who has made it his mission to help even the youngest of patients reach their full potential in life.”

Adam graduated with an MSc in audiology in 2006 and, following clinical training from 2006 to 2007, he has spent the last seven years working at the Manchester Foundation Trust - initially with Manchester Auditory Implant Programme and now at Trafford. He attributes his success to the wonderful paediatric audiology team he works with who, he says, all deserve to share this award.

He said: “Working with children showed me how much we can positively influence a child’s life and the lives of their immediate family members”

“It’s a challenging job and no two days are the same, but I’m confident that if we improve quality of life from a very early age, we’re also making it possible for children to grow up healthily and happily. Most importantly, I feel that the products we have available today have come a long way both technologically and aesthetically. Modern devices are tailored to each individual’s ear and are very discreet. The increased range of colour choices and personalisation options available now are helping to make hearing aids more appealing to children, which makes our job much easier.

"Feedback management systems, the ability to connect with a wide range of assistive listening devices, as well as longer and more reliable battery life, are helping to simplify the use of hearing aids and that is, in itself, a great success.”