Our team at Kent Hearing

Preview Chat Priya 2

Director and Consultant Audiologist

Dr. Priya Carling, AuD, RHAD

Priya trained as a speech-language therapist and audiologist in South Africa and completed her AuD through an American university in Florida. She has over 25 years clinical and management experience in both the UK private sector and the NHS.

She has worked as Head of Audiology, Neurophysiology and Speech Therapy at the BUPA Cromwell Hospital, London and was Head of Audiology for East Kent Audiology Services. She then spent 7 years as Director of Education, Principal Investigator and Senior Lecturer at UCL’s Ear Institute in London.

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In 2017 Priya set up Kent Hearing, offering a local clinical service, including earwax removal, hearing testing, hearing aids, tinnitus management and paediatric services. Priya is also lead audiologist at West Kent ENT Community Service, Borough Green.

She has worked as a consultant to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for whom she has helped develop their Basic Ear and Hearing Care resource. She has also been a member of the scientific advisory board for the BEAR project in Denmark and is currently a sections editor for the clinical publication ENT and Audiology News.

Priya is a regular speaker at global hearing events and conferences and provides guest lectures at UK and overseas universities. She is both a Trustee and Senior Fellow of the British Society of Audiology (BSA) and is an associate member of the Association of Independent Hearing Healthcare Providers (AIHHP)  

Preview Chat Steph 1

Practice Co-ordinator

Stephanie Hogan

Having started her career in the restaurant industry, Stephanie worked for a chain of national opticians before joining Kent Hearing in 2018. She is responsible for much of the important behind the scenes administration and organisation that keeps the practice running smoothly and efficiently.

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Steph’s responsibilities include booking and managing patient appointments, organising follow-ups, book-keeping and finance, IT and all other aspects of day-to-day office administration. She also attends patient consultations when required, assists with hearing aid maintenance and care, and enjoys meeting the wide range of patient’s of all ages that come to the practice.

Preview Chat Steph 1

Audiologist

Ruth Bannister BSc

Ruth joined us in 2020 and is a highly experienced audiologist with over 15 years’ experience in her field. She works with us on a part-time basis, also working with Dr Carling as part of the Kent Community ENT team at Borough Green medical practice and additionally as a bank team member of the children’s audiology team at the Kent Community Health Foundation Trust.

Ruth volunteers for the Kent Deaf Children’s Society and the British Academy of Audiology (BAA) where she is a conference committee member.

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At Kent Hearing Ruth works closely with Dr Carling, both taking and assisting with paediatric clinics, fitting hearing aids and running hearing aid follow up clinics. She also oversees Kent Hearing’s monthly audiology clinic at Sheppey Eyecare on the Isle of Sheppey and takes school hearing screening appointments in local schools.

Ruth holds a BSc Honours degree in Hearing Science in 2018 from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, as well as a Foundation degree in the Sciences Hearing Aid Audiology and a BSA Certificate in impression taking. Her past roles have included both Senior Paediatric Audiology and Liaison Officer and Paediatric Audiologist for the Kent Community Health Foundation Trust. She also has a level 6 qualification in British sign language.

nigel padgham

Consultant in Otological Medicine & Medico-legal assessments.

Nigel Padgham, MB ChB FRCSEd. FRCSEng.

Nigel joined our team in 2019, bringing with him a wealth of expertise and experience gained over 35 years as a surgeon and 29 as an ENT consultant.

His specialist areas of work include vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss and ear infections.

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At Kent Hearing, Nigel runs clinics for patients with complex otological conditions and handles medico-legal assessments, providing additional support and expertise to the Kent Hearing team when required.  He also works with Dr Priya Carling, AuD and Ruth Bannister as part of the ENT team at Borough Green medical practice.

Nigel has held many high-level ENT consultant posts both in the UK and abroad. These include ENT Consultant at East Kent Hospitals (1994-2013), at The Chaucer Hospital, Canterbury and at Spencer Private Hospitals, Kent (1994-2019), Benenden Hospital (2012-2016) and at KIMS Hospital, Maidstone (2014-2019).  He has also been a visiting Fellow at hospitals in Paris, Zurich and Malaysia and is the author of 22 peer-reviewed ENT papers, including 4 on Tinnitus.  He is currently a Community ENT Consultant for East Kent, West Kent and Swale.

Nigel has also held a number of advisory positions throughout his career, including East Kent Advisor on Cochlear Implantation (1994-2005), Lead Clinician ENT and Clinical Director Head and Neck Surgery East Kent Hospitals (1998-2018), and Vice Chairman Medical Staff Committee QEQM Spencer Private Hospital (2000-2018) and Chairman at Spencer Private Hospital Ashford (2010-2018).

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Audiologist

Danielle Krabbenhoft BA (Hons)

Danielle studied audiology at University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, SA, gaining a BA Hons degree in Speech Therapy and Audiology in 2013. She then completed her year’s community service at Leratong Hospital in Kurgersdrop, SA.  
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On graduating, Danielle worked in private practice in South Africa from 2012-2018, both as a clinical audiologist and as a practice manager at leading Johannesburg audiology practices including The Ear Institute (Rosebank), Sandton Hearing, Kind2Hearing and Listen Hear Audiology & Balance.
Danielle started her career in the UK in 2021, working for Audiological Science as an audiologist and as assistant operations manager, before joining the Harley Street ENT clinic as a specialist audiologist (part-time).
She joined Kent Hearing in 2023 to work part-time as an audiologist.  Danielle has a particular passion for vestibular and paediatric hearing and works with Dr Carling and Ruth Bannister on all aspects of the wide range of children’s hearing services that Kent Hearing offer.  She also runs hearing testing and hearing aid clinics at our Kings Hill practices.
Danielle holds a Higher Certificate in Healthcare Services Management and completed the Vestibular Assessment and Rehabilitation Therapy Course at University of Cape Town.
nigel padgham

Marketing Director

Tom Carling

Tom works part-time at Kent Hearing, overseeing all marketing and communication activity.
 
This includes website content, patient literature, social media and advertising, as well as events and community activity in our local area.
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Tom started his career in leisure management, working for and then running one of London’s first indoor tennis clubs, where he also coached tennis part-time. He left to go into marketing, where he spent 25 years working on national and international client accounts for London-based advertising, marketing and communication agencies, including The Triangle Group and Arc Worldwide.
He then worked as both a consultant and copywriter for agencies and SME’s before running the marketing for a group of sustainability and energy efficiency companies.
He helped to set up Kent Hearing in 2017.
In 2020 he re-qualified to teach tennis and combines this with his role at Kent Hearing, teaching players of all ages for Jimmy’s Tennis, at both West Malling and Rochester.
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Advisor

Paul Unwin MBBS MRCGP DCH DPGENT

Paul is a highly experienced GP and ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) specialist who works with us in an advisory capacity and offering a wealth of expertise and knowledge in all aspects of both ENT and practice management.

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Paul qualified from Saint Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London in 1986 and following a medical rotation in Cornwall, studied paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology before starting his career general practice. In 1993 he began a post in ear, nose and throat and completed his post graduate diploma in 2000. In 1995 he became the first GP with a specialist interest in ear, nose and throat and was also the first person in Kent to train up a healthcare assistant to become a micro receptionist.
Over the last two decades Paul has helped lead the development of the highly successful and innovative Kent Community ENT community ear nose and throat service, an NHS community-based ENT service run by specialist audiologists, doctors and nurses providing ENT services from community hospitals and GP surgeries. This service has expanded both geographically across the county and in terms of services provided, to include all aspects of audiology, micro suction, balance, tinnitus therapy groups and training. Dr Priya Carling also works as part of this team on a part-time basis.
Paul has a keen interest in sailing, skiing, cycling and walking as well as enjoying food and drink and spending time with family and his dogs.

All hearing tests are undertaken in our relaxing and comfortable Kings Hill clinics, using the very latest available technologies.