Hobson ENT

Hobson ENT Jonathan Hobson is a Consultant ENT / Head & Neck Surgeon working at the University Hospital of South Manchester and the Spire Hospital, Cheshire

📚 GCSE results day. To everyone collecting theirs this morning, well done. 🎉You have just sat the first set of exams any...
20/08/2026

📚 GCSE results day. To everyone collecting theirs this morning, well done. 🎉
You have just sat the first set of exams anyone outside your family will ever ask about, and that takes some nerve. However today goes, it is a stepping stone and not a verdict.

🧪 If you are thinking about medicine, here is the honest version:
Yes, medical schools do look at GCSEs, and strong grades in English, maths and the sciences make life easier. But A-levels carry far more weight, and the UCAT sits alongside them. Chemistry is the near-universal A-level requirement, usually with biology. You do not need three sciences, and a fourth subject you actually enjoy will do more for you than a third one you resent. 🎯

If today was not what you hoped, it does not close the door. Sixth forms take retakes in English and maths every year, and I know consultants who did exactly that. What tends to matter over a thirty year career is stamina, curiosity and being someone colleagues want in the room at 3am. None of that is examined today. ⏳

Good luck to every one of you. 🍀

🎓 Results day. Whatever is in that envelope, you did the work and it counts. To everyone opening A-level results this mo...
13/08/2026

🎓 Results day. Whatever is in that envelope, you did the work and it counts. To everyone opening A-level results this morning, congratulations!

🛌 I remember my Mum walking in with the envelope when I was fast asleep after the post had been delivered and I just went back to sleep and told her I’d open it later!

🩺 For anyone heading into medicine, or wondering whether the door has closed if your results aren’t what you had hoped for:

I have been a consultant for eighteen years and I can tell you that nobody has ever asked me what I got at A-level. Not once. What they ask is whether I am any good with patients at 3am.

If today did not go your way, medicine is not a one-shot exam. A resit year, a gap year with achieved grades, a biomedical degree into graduate entry, or a foundation year all lead to the same place. Some of the best doctors I work with took the long way round and are better for it. If you spend that year working as a healthcare assistant, you will arrive at medical school ahead of half your cohort.

🍀 Good luck to all of you today. Be kind to yourselves.

10/08/2026

🔔 Tinnitus isn’t actually a sound coming from your ear.

That single idea can completely change how tinnitus feels, and how people cope with it.

🧠 In many cases, tinnitus is the brain responding to reduced auditory input by effectively turning up its internal “gain”. That helps explain why the ringing or buzzing can seem louder:

🤫 In a quiet room
😴 When you’re tired
😰 When you’re stressed
👂 When there is an underlying hearing loss

The important message is that tinnitus can be managed.

Treatment isn’t usually about finding a tablet to “switch it off”. It is about helping the brain pay less attention to the signal.

🎧 Treating hearing loss with hearing aids
🌊 Using background sound or sound enrichment
🧠 Cognitive behavioural therapy to reduce the distress and attention associated with tinnitus

Over time, the brain can learn that the tinnitus signal isn’t important and gradually push it further into the background.

⚠️ One-sided tinnitus, tinnitus that beats with your pulse, or tinnitus associated with sudden hearing loss should always be properly assessed.

Tinnitus can be frightening, particularly when it first appears. Understanding what is happening is often the first step towards taking away some of its power.

Save this for later 🔖 and share it with someone who lives with tinnitus.

One of my favourite things about operating at the Manchester Royal Infirmary is being able to pop into the Whitworth Art...
07/08/2026

One of my favourite things about operating at the Manchester Royal Infirmary is being able to pop into the Whitworth Art Gallery 🖼️ on the way home.

This week I wandered through Entangled and Woven, expecting an exhibition about textiles. Instead, it felt like an exhibition about people. About the stories we inherit, the skills we pass on, and the invisible threads that connect places separated by thousands of miles. The exhibition brings together contemporary artists from Korea and India with historic textiles from the Whitworth’s own collection, exploring how craft carries memory, labour and cultural exchange across generations. Whitworth Art Gallery
I left thinking that perhaps we’re all a little like textiles ourselves: shaped by where we’ve come from, strengthened by the people we’ve met, and woven together by experiences we often don’t notice until we pause.

If you’re in Manchester over the next few months, it’s well worth an hour of your time.

07/08/2026

🚫 Every cotton bud box has a warning printed on it. Nobody reads it!
“Do not insert into the ear canal.” Here is why that sentence is there.

🧽 Your ear canal is self cleaning. The skin lining it migrates outwards at roughly the rate
your fingernails grow, carrying wax and debris with it. The system works perfectly well without you.

When you push a bud in, three things happen 1️⃣ You remove the soft wax at the entrance, which was doing a useful waterproofing and antibacterial job 2️⃣ You compact the rest against the eardrum, where it hardens 3️⃣ You abrade the skin of the canal, which is one of the commonest routes into an ear infection. 🩹 I also see perforated eardrums from cotton buds.

So what should you do instead?
For most people, nothing at all. If you produce a lot of wax, olive oil drops for a few nights
will soften and clear it. If the ear is genuinely blocked, have it removed under direct vision by
microsuction.

👂🏼Clean the outside. Leave the inside alone.

🏷️ Tag the person in your life who does this daily.

⚕ General information only, not individual medical advice. . .

It’s Festival season again! 🎵 Music should be for everyone. So should the conversation around it.One of the most inspiri...
25/07/2026

It’s Festival season again! 🎵 Music should be for everyone. So should the conversation around it.

One of the most inspiring things at Latitude Festival wasn’t on a stage.

It was seeing the incredible work of the British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters and accessibility teams making live performances genuinely inclusive for Deaf audiences.

From dedicated roaming interpreters helping with everyday conversations, to live BSL interpretation of performances, to apps allowing people to request interpreters or communicate more easily, it was a reminder that accessibility is about far more than ramps and subtitles. It’s about ensuring everyone can fully experience the event.

As an ENT surgeon, hearing loss is something encountered every week. But it’s important to remember that many Deaf people do not see deafness as something to be “fixed”. British Sign Language is a rich language with its own grammar, culture and identity. For many, BSL is their first language.

Simple things can make a huge difference:
👋 Face the person when speaking.
💡 Make sure your face is well lit.
🗣️ Speak naturally rather than shouting.
✍️ Be happy to write things down or use your phone if needed.
🤟 Learning even a few basic BSL signs can help break down barriers.

Huge credit to the teams at Latitude and the interpreters who worked tirelessly throughout the festival to make it welcoming for everyone. Accessibility isn’t an optional extra, it’s part of delivering great care, great events and an inclusive society.

Different noses and nostrils 👃🏽 today! An absolutely amazing experience to see these mesmerising creatures in their natu...
21/07/2026

Different noses and nostrils 👃🏽 today! An absolutely amazing experience to see these mesmerising creatures in their natural surroundings 🐋🇨🇷

Great venue for the meeting today some interesting ENT talks and a fascinating discussion by about the future and fund...
22/05/2026

Great venue for the meeting today some interesting ENT talks and a fascinating discussion by about the future and funding of healthcare and the NHS

Getting on the disco ball 🪩 logo meme at HobsonENT with my logo designed by
21/05/2026

Getting on the disco ball 🪩 logo meme at HobsonENT with my logo designed by

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