Professor Douglas Hartley

Professor Douglas Hartley

Consultant ENT Surgeon

MBBS, DPhil, FRCS (ORL-HNS)


Specialises in

  • ENT conditions in adults and children
  • Hearing loss
  • Dizziness
  • Tinnitus
  • Ear Microsuction

Also available for:

Virtual consultations:

I am a highly experienced Ear, Nose and Throat consultant surgeon with an international reputation in the field of ear surgery (Otology). I am the only ENT Professor at the University of Nottingham, and the surgical lead for the Nottingham Auditory Implant program at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

I am very experienced in the assessment and management of a wide range of ear, nose, throat and head and neck conditions in adults and children, and receive private referrals locally and from across the UK, including referrals from other healthcare specialists and ENT surgeons for complex surgery.

I have a specialist interest in conditions of the ear, including hearing and balance disorders in both children and adults. This includes cholesteatoma, cochlear implants, middle ear implants, bone-anchored hearing aids, ossiculoplasty, Ménière's disease, Vestibular migraines, Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), perforated ear drum, otosclerosis, glue ear, tinnitus, hyperacusis, ear infections and ear microsuction.

I completed my medical training and qualified with distinction from Newcastle University Medical School in 1995. During my subsequent training in Oxford, I undertook pioneering research in the fields of glue ear and cochlear implantation and awarded a PhD (DPhil) from Oxford University in 2001. I worked as a Clinical Lecturer in ENT Surgery at the world famous John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and was fortunate to be the first recipient of a Welcome Trust Clinician Scientist Fellowship in ENT surgery: the second recipient across any surgical specialty.

I have spent time as a Surgical Fellow at the Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre, after becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS ORL-HNS) in 2009 and completing my higher surgical training at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Part of my training included working under world renowned Otologists, Rhinologists and sinus surgeons as well as Head and Neck cancer Surgeons.

I am currently an ENT Professor at Nottingham University and my groundbreaking research at the National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre is developing novel tools to monitor the effects of deafness and hearing restoration on the ear and the brain to improve treatment outcomes. My work has been widely published in high impact international scientific journals and I have contributed to over £30 million in grant funding. I regularly lecture on my translational work that involves bringing technology into clinical practice in the UK and around the world. More recently, during the COVID19 pandemic, I developed a novel form of personal protective equipment (PPE) for cochlear implant surgery that has been adopted around the world, giving hundreds of deaf children worldwide the chance to hear. This breakthrough was reported in national newspapers and on radio and television news. I am also heavily involved in postgraduate teaching and training, and I run a prestigious Fellowship for ENT surgeons in training. I recently received the Royal Society of Medicine’s award for the best work in Otology.

I serve on the translational grant review committee for the Royal National Institute for the Deaf and review papers for several international journals. 

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General Medical Council Number: 4184124

Treatment information

Some of the principal treatments carried out by Professor Douglas Hartley at Spire include:

Ear Nose and Throat (ENT)

Other treatments

  • Ear infections and pain
  • Cholesteatoma
  • Cochlear implants
  • Menieres disease
  • Myringoplasty
  • Nasal Blockage
  • Ossiculoplasty
  • Paediatrics
  • Rhinosinusitis

Get in touch

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Additional information

Ear, nose and throat
Hearing loss

FRCS (ORL-HNS) / UK / 2009
Intercollegiate Specialty Board

MRCS / UK / 2002
Royal College of Surgeons

D.Phil / University of Oxford / 2001
Doctor of Philiosophy

MBBS / University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne / 1995
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery


Professional leadership

ENT Professor, Nottingham University

My research team at the University of Nottingham work in association with the MRC Institute for Hearing Research and the National Biomedical Research Centre. In 2014 I was awarded 'Dalby Prize' for best original work in otology in preceding 4 years. 

My research team at the University of Nottingham work in association with the MRC Institute for Hearing Research and the National Biomedical Research Centre.

Media Coverage

Coronavirus stopped us doing life-changing surgery, so we invented a new form of PPE

Nottingham University Hopitals

I grew up in a small village in Hampshire and now live in a small Leicestershire village with my wife and three daughters. Whist at Oxford I rowed for the Christ Church College 1st VIII crew and rowed in the 1999 Henley Royal Regatta. These days I prefer to relax by running across country fields accompanied by my two golden retriever dogs.