If you would like to arrange a private consultation, please talk to your own general practitioner to discuss this and to request referral to either Richard Irving, Peter Monksfield or Charlie Huins at The Birmingham Ear Clinic.

Although we prefer patients to be referred by his or her own general practitioner, this is not required. In particular, if you are self-funding your consultations, a referral letter is not essential. 

To arrange a consultation, please speak to to The Birmingham Ear Clinic Office on 0121 242 3299 via e-mail:

For Richard Irving: info@birminghamearclinic.com

For Peter Monksfield: monksfield@birminghamearclinic.com

Our consultants are recognised by most major private medical insurers. Most insurers require patients to be referred by a general practitioner for specialist care and we do advise all patients to liaise with their insurers prior to attending in order to ensure that their policy will cover them fully for the consultation and if your insurer requires a referral letter in order to proceed.

You will be required to bring your insurance membership or policy number with you to the first appointment together with a pre-authorisation number or code if this has been issued to you by your insurer.

We are always happy to see patients who are uninsured and are pleased to provide details about costings and payment terms upon request.

Please contact The Birmingham Ear Clinic Office for further information on: 0121-242 3299 info@birminghamearclinic.com or monksfield@birminghamearclinic.com

Non-insured patients will be required to settle their fees at the end of their visit.

We also receive many ‘tertiary‘ referrals of patients from other ENT surgeons, surgeons from elsewhere in the UK and from overseas, who are seeking a specialist opinion and advice for their own patients from a renowned expert in the field.

We are very happy to accept tertiary referrals and usually allow a longer, 45-minute consultation for such cases.

If you are being referred to Mr Irving, Mr Monksfield or Mr Huins by another ENT consultant elsewhere within the UK, it will be particularly important for you to discuss the referral with your private medical insurers and to ascertain that they will cover in full the costs of your consultation and any diagnostic procedures carried out at that visit.

If you have had any scans or X-rays with your original ENT surgeon, it will be necessary for you to bring these with you to the consultation.

You can expect to receive a thorough and careful detailed clinical assessment when you come to see Richard Irving, Peter Monksfield or Charlie Huins. Your consultation should last up to 30 minutes and you are most welcome to bring a family member or friend with you to the appointment if you wish.

Having examined you and taken a very careful history, your consultant may feel that you would benefit from a diagnosis or therapeutic procedure which can be carried out there and then. This could be a formal test of your hearing, a procedure to clean your ear, or an Epley manoeuvre for patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

If your consultant feels that you would benefit from seeing one of our Clinic collaborators, such as our hearing aid dispenser, audiologist, vestibular therapist, or tinnitus counselling or retraining therapist, then we will make arrangements for this to take place.

If it’s required for you to undergo diagnostic investigation, we can arrange this for you, using the latest techniques and state-of the art analysis to ascertain or confirm the nature of your problem. This will usually take the form of an MRI or CT scan, which will be arranged a few days after you have seen the consultant. It is important that you contact your private medical insurance providers in order to inform them that you have been referred for a scan and to ensure that you are fully covered for the procedure before undergoing this investigation.

Once the results are available, we will then arrange for Mr Irving or Mr Monksfield to see you again to discuss the investigations and he will give you the best possible advice and care, based upon the most up-to-date knowledge, expertise and surgical methods.

If your consultant feels that no investigations are required but that he would like to reassess you again, you will be able to arrange your next consultation before you leave the hospital.

Patients who are not insured will be required to settle the consultant’s account before leaving.

Should surgical treatment be required, we will ensure that you have plenty of time to discuss with your consultant any concerns that you may have and any questions that you wish to ask.

They will explain your treatment to you and ensure that you are fully aware of any implications, benefits and potential risks of surgery, that you understand what is involved in the treatment recommended, and that you have a clear grasp of what it is designed to achieve for you.

Operations commonly performed:

• Examination under anaesthetic (EUA) of ear
• Examination under anaesthetic (EUA) of post-nasal space
• Insertion & removal of grommets or T-tubes
• Adenotonsillectomy
• Myringoplasty
• Meatoplasty
• Canalplasty
• Tympanoplasty
• Tympanotomy
• Ossiculoplasty
• Stapedectomy
• Gentamicin/transtympanic chemical labyrinthectomy (may be performed as in or out-patient)
• Osseous labyrinthectomy
• Saccus decompression
• Superior canal occlusion
• Posterior canal occlusion
• Combined approach tympanoplasty
• Mastoid surgery
• Petrosectomy
• Middle fossa craniotomy and repair of CSF leak
• Facial hypoglossal anastomosis
• Facial nerve decompression
• Surgical removal of glomus jugulare tumour
• Removal of acoustic neuroma – translabyrinthine or retrosigmoid approach

We will endeavour to arrange your operation as quickly as possible and at a time which is convenient to you.

If, an operative solution is suggested for your condition, the procedure will usually be carried out at either BMI Priory or BMI Edgbaston Hospital.

Your operation will be carried out by the consultant in charge of your care, assisted by a highly specialist consultant anaesthetist. All of the consultant anaesthetists who work with us are fully recognized by the major private medical insurers.

Both the BMI Edgbaston and Priory Hospitals provide excellent patient facilities combined with the latest in technology, enabling us to undertake a wide range of procedures, ranging from routine diagnostic investigations to complex surgical procedures, in a clean and safe hospital environment.

The Priory Hospital has a Level III Intensive Care Unit with 6 ITU beds and The Edgbaston Hospital has 2 HDU beds.

Each hospital has an experienced on-site doctor together with fully qualified nursing staff, providing 24 hour medical support to our in-patients.

All rooms at both locations offer high levels of privacy and comfort with en-suite facilities and satellite television. An excellent standard of catering is provided, designed to satisfy a wide range of dietary tastes and requirements. There is also a restaurant for hospital visitors and out-patients.

All our consultants – Mr Richard Irving, Mr Peter Monksfield and Mr Charlie Huins are recognised by most major private medical insurers. However, we do advise patients to liaise with their insurers prior to attending in order to ensure that their policy will cover them fully for the consultation.

We are always happy to see patients who are uninsured and are pleased to provide details about costings and payment terms upon request. Please contact The Birmingham Ear Clinic Office for further information. Non-insured patients are required to settle their account at the end of each visit.

Depending on the consultant and location, the basic out-patient consultation fees are:-

• New patient (GP/self referral) £300.00 to £350.00 – to be paid on the day
• Tertiary referral £350.00
• Follow-up consultation £165.00

It is possible that your consultant may wish to carry out a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure during your consultation. It is important that you are aware that these procedures are cost-bearing and attract a fee from both the consultant and from the hospital. These fees are in addition to the basic consultation fee outlined above. Further details may be obtained from The Birmingham Ear Clinic Office.

Our fees for operations are generally in line with the fees stipulated by the major private medical insurance companies.

If you are uninsured or wish to fund your operation yourself, details about costings and payment terms may be obtained via The Birmingham Ear Clinic Secretary – Sue Wilcox on 0121-242 3299 or info@birminghamearclinic.com