Rebecca Bartlett has been an audiologist since graduating from Curtin University in Western Australia in 1992, with a degree in Psychology and post-graduate qualifications in Psychology and Audiology. She has spent most of her working life in Ballarat. She has also had the pleasure and incredible experience of working in hearing clinics in various developing countries with a charity called EARS Inc., training local staff in Audiology. Rebecca Bartlett lived in Malawi, Africa for seven years where there is very limited access to clinical services, ear canal management, and in particularly wax occlusion, therefore, it is a significant problem for these communities. Chronic middle ear disease is extremely common in Malawi and affects the communication, speech development, and school performance of children significantly.  Access to surgeries such as grommets is rarely available, and hearing aids are the only option.

Working in this environment with limited resources and medical support has enhanced and developed her skills as an audiologist and communicator. Rebecca Bartlett feels very grateful for having had the opportunity to train others in the craft of audiology and bringing this much needed service to developing countries.  Rebecca and her husband Peter, who is also an audiologist are the founders of the first Audiology degree program in Malawi, one of only three audiology degree programs within all 50 countries of the continent of Africa. Since returning to live back in Ballarat with their 3 daughters, they oversee this degree program and the running of the ABC Hearing Clinic which is now staffed by Malawian audiologists. They still make regular visits a few times a year to support this program.

Rebecca Bartlett is so happy to be able to bring her experience back home to Ballarat and to be working with such a highly skilled team of Specialists at ENT Ballarat. She joined the team at ENT Ballarat in 2017.
As part of Rebecca Bartlett’s continual professional development, she has completed two courses in Ear Canal Management approved by Audiology Australia and is supervised by an Ear Nose and Throat specialist.

Hearing loss or reduced hearing from wax impaction is very debilitating and frustrating and affects your quality of life. Being able to offer a timely and safe removal of ear wax and ear canal examination is very rewarding when you see the joy on a patient’s face when they can hear clearly again. Her experience managing chronic ear infections and her desire to ensure children receive timely intervention to minimize its impact on speech and language development is an asset to our clinic.

She has a passion for tinnitus and dizziness counselling thanks to her psychology background. She has recently updated and developed her skills further in the areas of vestibular assessment and therapy for people with dizziness, vertigo or balance issues. The assessment includes the use of Vesticam Infrared Goggles which allows her to see and record eye movements to aid in making reliable and informed clinical decisions.

Rebecca thoroughly enjoys being able to bring progress, change and better quality of life for those she sees at Ear Nose and Throat Ballarat and is grateful for the opportunity to work amongst such high caliber colleagues.