About the Ear Institute

Our vision

To deliver breakthrough scientific discoveries, innovative education and transformative treatments for hearing, balance and ENT care.

We provide a unique environment for teaching and research training in hearing sciences and related clinical subjects.
Our programmes draw on clinical expertise from the associated Royal National Ear, Nose and Throat Hosptial housing the largest clinical audiology unit in the UK.
World leading academics and clinicians, working in fields as diverse as human genetics, biophysics, computational neuroscience, cell biology and human cognition, come together to create a genuinely collaborative research environment.
Our partnership with the new Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospital makes us Europe’s largest single grouping of audio-vestibular, discovery and clinical scientists.

About the UCL Ear Institute

The UCL Ear Institute currently constitutes the largest single grouping of basic and clinical scientists interested in auditory and vestibular function in the UK. Now firmly established in UCL's Faculty of Brain Sciences, the Ear Institute also benefits from strong links with other UCL institutes and departments to enhance research, education and clinical training programmes. 

A key defining feature of the UCL Ear Institute is its emphasis on interaction between the different research groups that occupy the Centre for Auditory Research building and clinicians from the nearby Royal National Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital (formerly the RNTNEH, now part of the new Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals).

Since its creation in 2005, it has witnessed remarkable growth. Over the past five years alone it has been awarded over £35 million in research funding.

Its excellence in research was reflected in REF 2021, placing UCL at the top of Clinical Medicine and Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience for research power and intensity. In addition, bibliometric analysis by the RAND Corporation confirms it is producing the most influential research in the fields of ‘deafness and hearing problems’ and ‘audiology and speech language pathology’ in England.

Over 800 students have graduated from the Institute’s undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, and 92 students have been awarded a PhD.

The Ear Institute continues to offer Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Training, and runs courses for ENT medics, audiologists and associated health-care professionals. More than 1000 professionals have been trained through its CPD courses.

It holds a Silver Athena SWAN award, recognising our commitment to advancing women’s careers in STEM in higher education and research.