Mr Michael Pringle

I am a senior consultant ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon based in Portsmouth, treating both adults and children.

My special interest area is in ear problems and ear surgery, especially the treatment of deafness and chronic ear disease (cholesteatoma). I perform regular middle ear reconstructive surgery such as stapedectomy (treatment for otosclerosis), ossiculoplasty (repairing the hearing bones) and myringoplasty (closing a hole in the ear drum).

I have extensive experience in the surgical management of cholesteatoma in adults and children, using a technique, which maintains a normal ear canal avoiding a ‘cavity’. I am the senior cochlear implant surgeon at the Auditory Implant Service based in Southampton University.

I see patients with tinnitus and with balance problems. I provide a service for the surgical treatment of Menière's disease and Benign Positional Vertigo(BPPV). For patients who are unable to use hearing aids there are many surgical solutions which I undertake: the Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA), the Attract device, the Bonebridge the Vibrant Soundbridge middle ear implant and Cochlear Implants.

I have performed over 1,500 major ear operations and over 400 cochlear implants on patients from 7 months old to 90 years old. I have performed a number of innovative hearing operations, including one of the first Vibrant Soundbridge middle ear implants in the UK in 2003; the first Neurelec Binaural cochlear implant in the UK in 2010, and the first Carina totally implantable hearing device surgery in the UK in 2011.

I have written a website to help patients understand the conditions I treat and operations I do. It also shows my patient feedback responses (www.earsandhearinguk.com). I have a long experience in treating all common adult and paediatric ENT conditions such as tonsillitis, glue ear, rhinitis and blocked nose and lump in the throat sensation.

I was clinical director of the ENT Department at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth for four years. I am now the educational supervisor for the ENT trainee surgeons and I run an annual temporal bone course.

I regularly attend international conferences to keep up to date with the latest developments and innovations in ear, nose and throat treatments.