Anna Hollingdale MSc Audiology

Charing Cross Hospital - 6 month placement

Hi, I'm Anna Hollingdale and I studied MSc Audiology within Engineering and the Environment at the University of Southampton.

I decided to apply to Southampton University as it was close to home and the course had a great reputation.

I first decided to consider a career in Audiology during my BSc degree in Biomedical Science. I really enjoyed this undergraduate degree however, I wanted to have a career that was less laboratory based. I gained some experience in an NHS Audiology department and I really liked the combination of patient care and science. I decided to apply to Southampton University as it was close to home and the course had a great reputation.

The course was great and very hands on. It enabled me to develop many skills such as problem solving, critiquing and team work. At the end of the MSc all the skills I had learnt were used in the research project. This project was challenging but nonetheless, one of the best aspects of the course. My research project was on Echolocation ability of blind and sighted listeners which allowed me to develop a greater understanding of acoustics. This was also very exciting as it was the first time this type of research had been done at Southampton University with blind people and it enabled me to gain some experience with visually impaired individuals.

I am now on a six month placement at Charing Cross Hospital and I am really enjoying working as an Audiologist and putting into practice all that I learnt on the MSc. It is a challenging and rewarding job with a huge variety of patients.