BIOSKETCH Dr Sphilile Mbhele qualified as an audiologist at the University of KwaZulu- Natal. She has experience in diagnosing and treating hearing and balance disorders across all populations. She works as a lecturer in the Discipline of Audiology at UKZN teaching primarily vestibular assessment and management and paediatric audiology in clinical practice. Dr Mbhele serves as a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Auditory Implant Programme (KZNAIP), the International Pediatric Balance Network and is part of the South African Cochlear Implant Group (SACIG) Vestibular Task team. Dr Mbhele’s collaborative research focuses on paediatric balance, vestibular disorders, falls paediatric public health.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Assessment and management of vestibular disorders
Audiological and vestibular disorders in children
Public Health: Fall prevention in the elderly
Ototoxicity and vestibulotoxicity
Aural rehabilitation
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
Mbhele, S., & Makhoba, M. (2022). Audiologists’ phenomenographic experiences of professional development during community service in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. South African Journal of Communication Disorders, 69(1), a844. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v69i1.844
Mbhele, S., Rogers, C., Rea, P., Arshad, Q. & Saman, Y. (2024). Bárány Society Meeting Scientific Abstracts. Journal of Vestibular Research. 34(5-6): 342. doi:10.1177/09574271241295853.
Mbhele, S., Rogers, C. & Saman, Y. Clinical balance assessment tools for children with hearing loss: a scoping review. BMC Pediatr 25, 218 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-025-05563-2
