Hello, and welcome. I’m Sophia Mahmoudi-Hartley, audiologist, director, and the sole practitioner behind M H Hearingcare Ltd. If you’ve found your way here, chances are you or someone you love has a question about hearing, and I hope this blog becomes a place you keep coming back to for honest, straight forward answers.
Before I dive into anything clinical, I wanted to use this first post to introduce myself properly and explain why M H Hearingcare exists at all.
From the NHS to independence
I spent a significant part of my early career working within the NHS, most recently as a paediatric audiologist. I loved the work but over time I began to feel the weight of a system under pressure. In my last NHS role, I was regularly allocated 30 minutes to carry out a full paediatric hearing assessment and write the clinic letter. Thirty minutes. For a child. It started to feel like a conveyor belt, and with that came something I hadn’t anticipated: I began to lose the joy of a role I had trained hard for and genuinely cared about.
That wasn’t something I was willing to accept.
Going independent meant I could reclaim the things that matter most in audiology: time with patients, proper clinical thinking, and the freedom to make decisions based on what’s right for the person in front of me rather than what fits a slot in a diary. It also meant I could choose which hearing aid manufacturers I work with, rather than being limited to a contracted supplier, which makes a real difference to the quality of care I can offer.
A decision made around the kitchen table
There was a personal side to this too, and I think it’s worth being honest about it.
A while before I registered the company, I noticed that my daughter was struggling with the long days at nursery. Around the same time, I was pregnant with my son and travelling across the county to various clinics, and the toll it was taking on my health was becoming hard to ignore. Something had to change.
We were already in the middle of home renovations, which included a garage conversion and after a lot of conversations, my husband and I decided that this was the moment. M H Hearingcare Ltd was born, and in it’s earliest days it was run from that very garage conversion, which we had acoustically treated during the build to meet British Society of Audiology ambient noise level standards for hearing assessments.
Where we are now
M H Hearingcare is now based at White House Health & Wellness Centre in Epsom, Surrey, where I offer a full range of private audiology services from adult and paediatric hearing assessments to tinnitus management. Every appointment gets the time and attention it deserves.
A little bit more about me
Clinically, what drives me is the full breadth of audiology itself from hearing assessments and tinnitus management to hearing aid technology and accessories. I genuinely love keeping up with what different manufacturers are doing, and finding the right solution for each individual patient is something I find endlessly rewarding.
Outside of work, I’m kept very busy by my two children: Zahra, who is 12, and Farzan, who is 8. When I do find a quiet moment, you’ll likely find me behind a camera or putting together a photo book or scrapbook. I’ve always loved capturing memories and finding a way to preserve them.
We also have a very special member of the family – Sam, our chocolate Dutch rabbit. I used to breed purebred chocolate Dutch rabbits, and Sam is from our very first litter, now a remarkable ten years old. He is one of the most affectionate and happy-go-lucky animals you could ever meet, and very much the heart of our home.
What to expect from this blog
I’ll be writing here regularly about all things hearing health: practical guides for patients and parents, information about hearing technology, and advice on protecting your hearing at every stage of life. My aim is always to give you the kind of information I’d want a family member to have.
If there is a topic you’d like me to cover, or you’d like to book an assessment, I’d love to hear from you. Please drop me a message at info@mhhearingcare.co.uk or use the contact form on the website.
Until next time,
Sophia