Houston Methodist’s ear specialists, including otologists and neurotologists, provide comprehensive medical and surgical care for every ear condition. Our goal is to empower you to choose the best nonsurgical or surgical treatment option for your specific condition and unique lifestyle needs.

 

Using the latest technology and with extensive clinical and surgical expertise, we deliver cutting-edge care for a range of ear disorders, including those associated with:

• Ear infection
• Dizziness
• Balance problems
• Hearing loss
• Facial nerve problems

 

In addition, our team provides comprehensive diagnostic audiology and vestibular evaluation services for people of all ages. 

Hearing Loss & Hearing Disorders

Hearing loss can affect your ability to communicate and dramatically affect your quality of life.

Hearing Disorders We Treat

• Aural atresia – a congenital condition in which the ear canal does not develop normally
• Cholesteatoma – abnormal skin growth or cyst behind the eardrum
• Conductive hearing loss – abnormal hearing resulting from sounds not passing through outer and middle ear
• Otosclerosis – abnormal bone growth in the middle ear
• Ruptured eardrum – also called tympanic membrane perforation
• Sensorineural hearing loss – the most common type of permanent hearing loss caused by inner ear damage
• Swimmer’s ear – pain in the outer ear caused by infection, inflammation or irritation
• Tinnitus – often referred to as ‘ringing in the ears,’ this is the perception of a phantom sound

Treatment Options for Hearing Loss & Hearing Disorders

Our experts not only evaluate your hearing loss or disorder using the latest technology available, they help you choose the treatment option that's right for you.

Nonsurgical treatment options for hearing disorders:

• Comprehensive hearing assessment
• Hearing aids
• Acoustic immittance measurements
• Cortical auditory evoked responses
• Otoacoustic emissions
• Tinnitus evaluation, management and treatment
  
  

If hearing aids are needed, our audiologists partner with the top hearing aid brands and manufacturers to help you choose the best device for your needs and lifestyle.

 

Our board-certified audiologists also offer custom ear technology and electrocochleography (ECochG), a noninvasive technique that measures the electrical potentials in the inner ear and auditory nerve.

 

Surgical treatment options for hearing disorders:

• Stapedectomy
• Tympanoplasty (eardrum repair)
• Cholesteatoma surgery
• Mastoid surgery/chronic ear drainage
• Cochlear implants
• Bone conduction hearing aids

Dizziness and Imbalance

Balance disorders may cause symptoms of vertigo, dizziness, unsteadiness and nausea.

 

Our experts use the latest and most reliable tests for identifying balance disorders including, electronystagmography (ENG) or videonystagmography (VNG), rotary chair testing, vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) testing and electroneuronography (ENoG).

Balance Disorders We Treat

• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) – the most common inner ear problem, which causes a sensation of spinning (also called vertigo)
• Superior canal dehiscence syndrome – an opening in a bone of the inner ear that can affect hearing and balance
• Ménière’s disease – an inner ear disorder that causes episodic hearing loss and vertigo
• Vestibular migraine – a type of migraine characterized by sensitivity to motion
• Vestibular neuritis (labyrinthitis) – loss of balance caused by damage to either the inner ear or balance nerve

Tumors of Ear

Ear tumors are rare and can be cancerous or non-cancerous. Our surgeons have expertise using lateral skull base surgery and other surgical techniques to treat: 

• Acoustic neuroma
• Facial nerve tumors
• Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak
• Glomus tumors (paragangliomas)
• Malignant tumors of the temporal bone