Adelaide Tinnitus and Hearing Care

31/08/2026

Sharing this excellent piece because it features two audiologists I deeply admire and have learned so much from; Mini Gupta and Myriam Westcott. 🎧

Some of what struck me:

🔹 Tinnitus affects roughly 1 in 8 people, but severity varies hugely. Most people’s brains eventually tune it out as “unimportant,” while a smaller group become significantly distressed by it.

🔹 It’s not proportional to hearing loss. You can have severe tinnitus with normal hearing, or severe hearing loss with none at all.

🔹 There’s no single fix. Myriam describes it as needing a comprehensive, personalised approach that addresses the psychological distress alongside the physical side; because tinnitus causes stress, and stress can make tinnitus worse.

🔹 Mini’s work treating real patients, helping them go from feeling like tinnitus has taken over their life, to feeling like it’s genuinely manageable. It is a great reminder of what’s possible with the right support.

If you or someone you know struggles with tinnitus, it’s worth a read. 👇

At least one in eight people suffer from the condition. While it can be tricky to treat, there are ways to “turn down the volume”.

25/08/2026

We hear with our ears 👂, but we listen with our brains🧠.

Hearing devices do a remarkable job. They amplify the parts of speech you struggle to catch, and they clean up background noise. For many people, that's enough.

But some people find that even with great hearing technology, or even if you don’t have hearing loss at all, they're still struggling. Conversations in noisy restaurants, fast talkers, group settings where everyone seems to be speaking at once. Feeling exhausted at the end of the day just from trying to follow along 😦

If that sounds familiar, it's not your hearing aids failing you, it's the other half of the system. The brain.

When hearing has been reduced over time, the brain gradually becomes less efficient at its job; separating speech from noise, keeping up with pace, holding onto what was just said while still processing what comes next. Hearing aids can't fix that. But brain training can.

That's why we offer LACE AI Pro at ATAHC; an evidence-based auditory training program that works like physiotherapy for your listening brain. Just 15 minutes a day, on your phone, tablet, or computer. The AI adapts to your performance in real time, and the research behind it spans 20+ years and 80+ peer-reviewed publications.

One of our favourite features: you can train using familiar voices, your partner, your kids, your grandchildren. Because the people you most want to hear clearly are the ones closest to you.

👉 Read the full blog to find out if it's right for you:

https://www.atahc.com.au/blog/lace-ai-pro

📞 0493 753 121 | atahc.com.au | Goodwood, Adelaide

Better hearing starts with the brain.

23/08/2026

End of an era. 🎧

18 months ago I started Adelaide Tinnitus & Hearing Care one day a week — a hired room, borrowed equipment. Wait times blew out, so I invested in my own gear and leased a day a week at . My first home. A year working alongside other allied health providers in the most welcoming, healing space.

Wait times blew out again. So I left the permanent job I loved and went out on my own — hiring a room from an ENT clinic, one day a week. My name on the door for the first time. That’s when it felt real — I was a business owner.

3 days a week, 3 locations. 2 days telehealth.

Now I’ve left both spaces — it’s time for a new adventure.

To the two spaces that gave me a start — thank you. You’ll always be part of this story.

Time to add a new chapter.

Watch this space. 👀

13/08/2026

Very humbled to ‘hear’ I'm a Finalist for Audiologist of the Year at the 2026 Australian Allied Health Awards! Looking at the other finalists, I'm honoured to be included.

Audiology is full of people doing quiet, committed work, showing up for patients, and pushing the profession forward. Huge congratulations to my fellow finalists Sam Harkus, Lara Shur, Mini Gupta, Nimi Naran, Signe Steers, Au.D and Keith "Earman" Chittleborough. What a lineup to be included in.

Thank you to the Allied Health Awards for creating the space to celebrate this work, and to Audiology Australia for sponsoring this inaugural category.

And thank you to every person who's sat across from me and trusted me with their hearing care. Every patient has taught me something that makes me a better clinician.

Another category joins our growing 2026 Finalist roll call. ✨

This time, we're shining the spotlight on the outstanding professionals recognised in Audiologist of the Year.
⭐ Sam Harkus
⭐ Lara Shur
⭐ Laura Drexler
⭐ Mini Gupta
⭐ Nimi Daya Naran
⭐ Signe Steers
⭐ Keith Chittleborough

Congratulations to our finalists, and a special thank you to Audiology Australia for supporting this category and the incredible work happening across audiology.

📋 See our 2026 Finalists:
https://www.alliedhealthawards.com/2026-finalists

We'll celebrate our winners in Adelaide on 10 October 2026 at the 2026 Australian Allied Health Awards Gala.

04/06/2026

Early start this morning, off to Melbourne for Mastering Tinnitus Clinical Skills Level 1 with Dr Mini Gupta

Two days of deep-dive tinnitus content: the science, the clinic, live demonstrations, and a hands-on case workshop. Exactly the kind of learning I seek out as a tinnitus specialist, you never stop learning.

Looking forward to connecting with like minded fellow audiologists, and catching up with old friends

Prep starts now ☕✈️

09/05/2026

An important update for our veteran community, and why I’m speaking up.

If you're a veteran with tinnitus, or you know someone who is, there's something important happening right now that you need to know about.

From March 2026, DVA has changed how it handles tinnitus claims. Instead of being able to see an audiologist of your choice, veterans are now being referred directly to Hearing Australia for assessment and treatment. We believe this decision, while well-intentioned, is going to make things harder for the veterans who deserve the most specialised care available. Here's why I’m concerned.

Tinnitus is not a simple condition.
It can devastate sleep, concentration, relationships, and mental health. Proper assessment and treatment takes time, specialist training, and a genuine understanding of how tinnitus affects every part of a person's life.

Veterans deserve choice.
Many of our veteran patients also live with PTSD. They have built trust with their clinician over months or years. That therapeutic relationship is not a nice-to-have, it is central to getting good outcomes. Taking away the right to choose your own provider doesn't just feel wrong. The evidence tells us it produces worse results.

The new pathway has some serious gaps.
Under the new model, veterans with high levels of tinnitus distress have to wait for a psychology referral before they can access specialist tinnitus treatments. But for many people, tinnitus treatment actually helps make psychological therapy more effective, not the other way around. The order matters. And the cut-off scores being used don't account for individual clinical need, we regularly refer patients to psychology who wouldn't qualify under this model, because I can see they need that support.

We've seen this before.
When the NDIS had problems with providers doing the wrong thing, the response affected everyone, including the providers doing the right thing by their clients. We understand DVA may be responding to similar concerns. But the answer is to punish unethical providers, not to remove access and choice for the people who need care most. Punish the wrongdoers, don't punish the veterans.

There is a better way.
The world's leading tinnitus researcher, Dr James Henry, has spent 35 years developing a stepped-care framework specifically designed for veteran populations, matching people to the right level of care, at the right time, with the right provider. I believe DVA should build its approach around that evidence base, restore veteran choice, and create a vetted list of specialist tinnitus providers with proper clinical standards and accountability.

At Adelaide Tinnitus and Hearing Care, our tinnitus assessments run for 90 minutes. I include comprehensive diagnostic testing including ultra high frequency testing and cochlear hair cell function, tests that aren’t completed in a hearing aid sales clinic. I provide education and counselling, and every patient leaves with a personalised management plan of they can start using straight away, because we know how long the waiting can be for a DVA claim to be approved. I am trained in Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, Neuromonics, Oritone and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, specialist, evidence-based treatment approaches. I work with psychologists to support the whole person, not just the ears.

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Su***de was unequivocal, veterans have been failed by systems that prioritised administrative convenience over clinical need. This pilot repeats that pattern in a different domain. Veterans served this country. They deserve a system designed around their clinical needs, built with specialist input, and accountable to outcomes, not one designed around procurement decisions made without consulting the people who actually treat this condition.

I have written formally to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and to my local MP because I believe our veterans deserve better than this. If you are a veteran affected by these changes, or if you'd like to share your experience, please reach out to your local Federal member of Parliament. And if you know someone who needs to see this, please share it.

https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/vetaffairs/vetaffairs-vol-42-no1-april-2026/improving-wellbeing-through-increased-access-to-treatment

06/05/2026

6 signs your hearing deserves attention that aren't just "I can't hear."

Most hearing difficulties don't start with silence. They start with small things you explain away. Swipe through and see how many land for you →

1. Struggling to follow conversations in noisy rooms; cafes, family dinners, meetings
2. Turning the TV up louder than others want it
3. Missing words; especially consonants like S, F, TH
4. Feeling exhausted after a day of conversations (this one is called listening fatigue, and it's very real)
5. Quietly stepping back from social situations without quite realising why
6. Asking people to repeat themselves, and hoping they don't notice

If any of those feel familiar, it's worth getting a proper assessment. Our tests how you hear in quiet AND in background noise because that's where hearing difficulties actually show up in everyday life.

💰 Medicare rebates available with a GP referral.
📍 Book online

https://www.atahc.com.au/

05/05/2026

If you, or someone you love has hearing loss, Hear Here Australia is here.

ACE your hearing is a small group program that teaches practical communication strategies, helps with the emotional side of hearing loss, and includes your family or friends too.

Check out the link if you’d like to learn more 😁

04/05/2026

"I just ask people to repeat themselves a lot."

If that sounds familiar, you're in good company.

Most people live with hearing difficulties for years before doing anything about it, not because they don't care, but because it creeps up so gradually that it just becomes the new normal.

Turning up the TV a little louder. Nodding along in group conversations and hoping no one notices. Avoiding noisy restaurants because it's just too hard.

The thing is, none of that has to be permanent, or even normal.

A comprehensive hearing assessment at our Hutt Street clinic takes 60–90 minutes and gives you a clear picture of exactly where your hearing is at. No pressure, no sales pitch. Just answers.

💰 Medicare rebates available with a GP referral.
📍 Book online via our website

https://www.atahc.com.au/

16/04/2026

This article was sent to me by one of my patients. Some good points highlighting how to keep not just your ears, but your ear buds clean and healthy too 😁

Constantly having headphones on can make your ear canal hot and humid, upsetting the bacteria balance in your ear. Here’s what to look out for.