Otolaryngologist, Otologist and Cochlear Implant Surgeon
Dr Rebecca Heywood is a British ENT surgeon with over 18 years of ENT experience. She treats all ENT conditions in adults and children. She specialises in otology/hearing implants and disorders of the ear, hearing, balance, facial nerve and skull base. Testament to her holistic approach and evidence-based, patient-centred care, Dr Rebecca was awarded a Gold Singapore Health Quality Service Award in 2022, Silver SingHealth Award for Service Excellence in 2021 and National University Health System Value Driven Outcomes Merit Award in 2020.
Dr Rebecca brings a wealth of experience to her practice, having worked in public hospitals in the UK, Australia and Singapore for 23 years. She graduated from the University of Manchester, UK in 1998 and did her postgraduate surgical training in London at world-renowned institutions such as Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, the Royal Marsden Hospital, St Mary’s Hospital and the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital. During her training she gained further experience in ear surgery at several prestigious centres internationally including the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles and the Causse Clinic in Beziers. She then undertook subspecialty fellowship training at the Ear Science Institute Australia, where she refined her skills in surgery of the ear and skull base, performing many middle ear, cochlear and other hearing implant and acoustic neuroma operations.
Dr Rebecca is considered a key opinion leader in ear and hearing. She co-founded the hearing implant programmes at Ng Teng Fong and Sengkang General Hospitals in Singapore, winning a Service Quality Patient Experience Award for the Adult Cochlear Implant Programme along with her team at JurongHealth Campus in 2018. She has been an expert advisor on the provision of cochlear, middle ear and bone conduction implants in public healthcare and contributed to World Health Organisation strategy workshops on ear and hearing care in the Western Pacific region. She also volunteers her time and surgical expertise to charitable causes, especially for needy children. These have included performing surgery at the Children’s Surgical Hospital, Cambodia, running ear clinics in remote Aboriginal communities and promoting ear and hearing health community events in Singapore.
Dr Rebecca has a strong track record in research and teaching and was previously Clinical Assistant Professor at SingHealth Duke-NUS Surgery Academic Clinical Programme. She was awarded grant funding to investigate the link between hearing loss and dementia in the ageing population in Singapore and led a research team spanning five institutions in Singapore, Australia (Ear Science Institute Australia) and the USA (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health). Her research has been widely reported in the media. She is also involved in clinical research on cochlear implantation and other auditory implants. Dr Rebecca is passionate about fostering a high-quality collaborative research network and was organizing chairman of the 1st World Hearing Day Research Symposium in Singapore in 2017. She has held expert faculty positions teaching ENT, otology and skull base surgery both locally and internationally.