Meet the group members

Dr Tracey Newman

I am a Professor in Neuroimmunology, and scientific adviser to AIS who leads a research group focused on investigating the links between inflammation, dementia, and hearing loss and how to improve hearing with a cochlear implant. 

Dr Mary Grasmeder

Barney Jones

Tell us a bit about yourself. I am a patient and public involvement officer from the Wessex Public Involvement Network. 

What is your motivation or reason for joining our group? I have been working with, and advising the researchers from Southampton, to establish this group.

Have you been involved in anything like this before? My patient and public involvement experience involves working with members of the public and researchers to ensure that research is carried out in way that is inclusive, ethical, and relevant to the public. I really enjoy working with All Ears because of the range of people and experiences of the group.

Louise Bowdery

Tell us a bit about yourself. I’m a 35-year-old mum to 2 girls. I am profoundly deaf and recently fitted with a cochlear implant. I have a progressive hearing loss and am a qualified audiologist. 

What is your motivation or reason for joining our group? My motivation is due to having lived experience with hearing loss all my life both from personal and professional point of view. I’d like to better understand it all and how best we can help people and improve things for those who are deaf/hearing impaired. 

Have you been involved in anything like this before? I used to be a volunteer for action on hearing loss and practise as an audiologist. 

Tell us one interesting fact about yourself. I did my MSc on cochlear implants and University of Southampton about 12 years ago, never thought I’d end up with one. 

Fatima Farhan

Tell us a bit about yourself. I was born with profound hearing loss and currently wear a cochlear implant and hearing aid. Last year, I graduated with a first-class honours Biomedical Sciences degree and I have just started as a trainee Audiologist in the NHS Scientist training programme this year. 

What is your motivation or reason for joining our group? I am incredibly interested in the work behind cochlear implants and want to help contribute to making the experience better for others. 

Have you been involved in anything like this before? No, this is my first time!

Tell us one interesting fact about yourself. Despite my hearing loss, I have learnt to speak fluently in two different languages. 

Clive Molyneux

Tell us a bit about yourself. I have CHARGE Syndrome and wear a Cochlear BAHA 5 Super Power hearing aid. Being assessed for a cochlear implant.

What is your motivation or reason for joining our group? My motivation for joining the group is for information and experience exchange. 

Have you been involved in anything like this before? I am a member of a local civic group and a local Equality and Diversity group. 

Tell us one interesting fact about yourself. I sign (badly) in a choir. Founder UK Member The International Molyneux Family Association (I am an amateur genealogist).

Eva Newberry

Tell us a bit about yourself. I am a senior manager/consultant with over 35 years’ specialising in Quality and Improvement.  Committed to delivering an inclusive service provision for all consumers whatever their personal circumstances or vulnerability, I work at seeing the world through the consumer’s eyes articulating the pain points, effort and struggle they experience and implementing improvements to consumer journeys. 

I am a qualified Lead ISO Auditor for Quality, Environment, Service Management and Information Security and a certified Lean Sigma Green Belt and experienced in a wide range of disciplines including training, development, mentoring and public speaking. Married for 38 years with one daughter who is studying for a BMus in Vocal Studies.

What is your motivation or reason for joining our group? I acquired chronic permanent tinnitus and deafness at 20.  I received my first cochlear implant in 2005 and became bi-lateral in 2008.  A proficient lipreader, I didn’t hear my daughter until my first switch on when she was 3.5 yrs old.  Our journey as a family – back to sound – motivates me to help in any way I can to further research and improve the journey for everyone in the future.  

Have you been involved in anything like this before? I have been a mentor with the Advanced Bionics Community for the past 16+ years.  Mentoring people around the world gives me a huge sense of purpose.  Knowing that I have helped many people during their own unique journey and provided a source of information for professionals too is fundamental to why I volunteer and offer to talk to people, groups and conferences about my own experience.

Tell us one interesting fact about yourself. I am the co-inventor and maker of a garment called a “ChoobToob” specifically designed for children who have a central line.  Originally designed for my great niece who had neuroblastoma at 3 months old, I’m a Non-Exec Director for Tiny Teas Trust which was set up to help other children receiving treatment and have made over 200 garments to order.

Dr Christopher John Satchwell

Tell us a bit about yourself. Widowed, father of two, grandfather of four – career spans selling airliners in South America, teaching aerodynamics to BA pilots, wind energy research at Southampton University, the financial markets and authoring a book ‘Pattern Recognition and Trading Decisions’.

What is your motivation or reason for joining our group? I grew up with a deaf brother, grew deaf with aged, have an appreciation of some of the technologies underlying CI’s and think this experience will help to articulate the problems deaf people face to those able to mitigate them. 

Have you been involved in anything like this before? In 1990, I was a founder member of the Natural Computing Applications Forum and served as its second secretary.

Tell us one interesting fact about yourself. Before my hearing became poor, I used to fly a light aircraft (PA38) in the French Maritime Alps. 

Sarah Smith

I have not been involved in any PPIE work but have always been keen on working in a team as one gets a much richer viewpoint if more people are involved in something. I have been invited to act as the lay supporter for a research submission once and found it fascinating. I was a participant in several experiments at AIS and have continued this at MRC in Cambridge and go about 4 times a year. It is fascinating to find out more bout auditory processing and brain health this way. 

I have used my ‘lived experience’ of hearing music through a CI as a speaker at a couple of conferences and enjoy using my lived experience to support possible candidates and users of CIs by email and meeting up. 

A friend and I prepared the ‘Chalk Stream Challenge’ as a lockdown project : great fun and lots of people have taken it up!

Sandra Wilson

Tell us a bit about yourself. I am late deafened and had my cochlear implant surgery in 2017. I work full time and have a full and active social life, all thanks to my amazing cochlear implant. 

What is your motivation or reason for joining our group? I had to be re-implanted due to migration and am the subject of an USAIS research study. I wanted to contribute to other research topics in the hope that I will help others. 

Have you been involved in anything like this before? 2014 James Lind Alliance PSP (Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery) https://www.jla.nihr.ac.uk/

Tell us one interesting fact about yourself. I completed a charity knitting challenge this year and knitted every day for 30 days.