Ear Research Foundation

Last updated June 23, 2019

The Ear Research Foundation, located in Sarasota, Florida,^[1] is a center for research and development and medical education. Herbert Silverstein, M.D., is the president and founder of the non-profit corporation.^[2]

Sarasota is a city in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is at the southern end of the Tampa Bay Area, north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2013 Sarasota had a population of 53,326. In 1986 it became designated as a certified local government. Sarasota is a principal city of the Sarasota metropolitan area, and is the seat of Sarasota County.

Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. Educational methods include storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and directed research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators, however learners may also educate themselves. Education can take place in formal or informal settings and any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. The methodology of teaching is called pedagogy.

The President is a leader of an organization, company, community, club, trade union, university or other group. The relationship between the president and the Chief Executive Officer varies, depending on the structure of the specific organization. In a similar vein to the Chief Operating Officer, the title of corporate President as a separate position is also loosely defined; the President is usually the legally recognized highest rank of corporate officer, ranking above the various Vice Presidents, but on its own generally considered subordinate, in practice, to the CEO. The powers of the president vary widely across organizations and such powers come from specific authorization in the bylaws like Robert's Rules of Order.

Significance

A division of the Silverstein Institute, the Ear Research Foundation is one of the largest centers in the world for:

Ear and Sinus Research and Development
Ear and Sinus Education
Ear and Sinus Treatment

Facilities and equipment

The Ear Research Foundation maintains a complete microsurgical laboratory, and an audiovisual and scientific library for ear physicians and surgeons. In 2004, Gloria and Louis Flanzer donated $100,000 to the Temporal Bone and Research Laboratory in the Ear Research Foundation wing. This donation enabled the Ear Research Foundation to purchase microscopes, flat screen monitors and video equipment which visiting physicians use to learn minimally invasive surgical techniques.

Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode ray tube (CRT) systems which were later replaced by flat panel displays of several types.

Academic opportunities

The Ear Research Foundation also offers a Clinical Fellowship for board eligible or board certified otolaryngologists. The Fellowship provides training in the diverse field of otology. Thirty two fellows have been trained as of 2007.

The Ear Research Foundation offers lectures and symposia, including a Ménière's Symposium, Minimally Invasive Otologic Surgery course, Non-Invasive Cosmetic Facial Rejuvenation and many others. They also host several support group meetings including Tinnitus and Cochlear Implant Support Group Meetings.

Treatment of ear and sinus disorders

The Ear Research Foundation also provides medical care, treatment, and rehabilitation of ear diseases and hearing and balance disorders. Primarily for the low-income sector, Ear Research Foundation provides some treatment funding for children and adults referred from such agencies as children's Medicaid Children's Medical Service, Early Learning Coalition, County Health Department, public schools and service agencies. Ear Research Foundation doctors donate 10 hours each week to provide medical and surgical care.

Physical medicine and rehabilitation, also known as physiatry, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to those with physical impairments or disabilities. A physician having completed training in this field may be referred to as a physiatrist. Physiatrists specialize in restoring optimal function to people with injuries to the muscles, bones, ligaments, or nervous system.

The Flanzer Children's Hearing Outreach Program, which is run by the Ear Research Foundation, was established in 2004 by a donation from Gloria & Louis Flanzer. The program travels to local pre-schools and daycare facilities to test children's hearing. It offers a free children's clinic to diagnose and treat all ear, nose and throat problems. The Ear Research Foundation clinic has treated 35,000 children and has performed over 8000 surgeries including many cochlear implant surgeries for indigent children.

A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthetic device that provides a sense of sound to a person with moderate to profound sensorineural hearing loss. Cochlear implants bypass the normal acoustic hearing process, instead replacing it with electric hearing. Namely, the sound sensation comes from the sound that is converted to electric signals which directly stimulate the auditory nerve. The brain adapts to the new mode of hearing, and eventually can interpret the electric signals as sound and speech.

Related Research Articles

Otology is a branch/word of medicine which studies normal and pathological anatomy and physiology of the ear as well as their diseases, diagnosis and treatment. Otologic surgery generally refers to surgery of the middle ear and mastoid related to chronic otitis media, such as tympanoplasty, or ear drum surgery, ossiculoplasty, or surgery of the hearing bones, and mastoidectomy. Otology also includes surgical treatment of conductive hearing loss, such as stapedectomy surgery for otosclerosis.

Graeme Milbourne Clark AC is an Australian Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Melbourne. He invented a multiple-channel cochlear implant.

A bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) is a type of hearing aid based on bone conduction. It is primarily suited for people who have conductive hearing losses, unilateral hearing loss, single-sided deafness and people with mixed hearing losses who cannot otherwise wear 'in the ear' or 'behind the ear' hearing aids. They are more expensive than conventional hearing aids, and their placement involves invasive surgery which carries a risk of complications, although when complications do occur, they are usually minor.

The House Ear Institute (HEI) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, based in Los Angeles, California, and dedicated to advancing hearing science through research, education, and global hearing health to improve quality of life. Established in 1946 by Howard P. House, as the Los Angeles Foundation of Otology, and later renamed for its founder, the House Ear Institute has been engaged in the scientific exploration of the auditory system from the ear canal to the cortex of the brain for over 70 years.

Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital hospital in New York, United States

Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital is a specialty hospital in New York City that was founded in 1869 and is currently located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan at 210 East 64th Street. After 131 years as an independent entity, in 2000 MEETI affiliated with Lenox Hill Hospital, a 652-bed acute care hospital, established in New York City in 1857 and located at 77th Street in Manhattan. MEETI is recognized in medical circles for its long history of contributions in developing the fields of ophthalmology, otolaryngology and plastic surgery. MEETI provides thousands of patients a year with treatment in its ambulatory surgery facilities.

Cochlear is a medical device company that designs, manufactures and supplies the Nucleus cochlear implant, the Hybrid electro-acoustic implant and the Baha bone conduction implant.

The Vattikuti Urology Institute (VUI) at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan is a clinical and research center for urological care. The VUI is notable for being the first institute to establish robotic surgery as a treatment for patients with prostate cancer. To date, the VUI has performed more than 5,000 robotic procedures. The institute currently has 110 regular staff members, 19 full-time senior staff members, 14 clinical staff members and 5 full-time Ph.D scientists. Ranked consistently high by U.S. News and World Report, VUI is also one of the largest and most active urology departments in the United States, with nearly 50,000 patients annually from all 50 states and nearly 25 countries.

The Illinois Eye & Ear Infirmary (IEEI) is a center of ophthalmology and otolaryngology research and clinical practice. Currently, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ranks the department 4th nationally in ophthalmology research funding and 1st in the Midwestern United States and Chicago metropolitan area.

Neurotology or neuro-otology is a branch of clinical medicine which studies and treats neurological disorders of the ear. It is a subspecialty of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, and is closely related to otology, and also draws on the fields of neurology and neurosurgery. Otology generally refers to the treatment of middle ear disease and resultant conductive hearing loss, whereas neurotology refers to treatment of inner ear conditions, or hearing and balance disorders. These specialists also work with audiologists and related sensory specialists.

Ramesh C. Deka is an ENT specialist and the Ex-Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, which is globally recognised as the premier Medical Institute of India. He is one of the pioneers of cochlear implant surgery in India and has performed the country's first bilateral cochlear implantation surgery.

Henryk Skarzynski is a Polish doctor otolaryngologist, audiologist and phoniatrist, creator and director of Warsaw Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing and World Hearing Center in Kajetany.

Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to prevent and cure hearing loss and tinnitus through groundbreaking research, and promote hearing health. In 2011, the Deafness Research Foundation changed its name to Hearing Health Foundation.

Mani H. Zadeh is a Otolaryngologist-Head and Neck Surgeon and a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) as well as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). He is considered an expert in minimally invasive surgical procedures and specializes in nasal and sinus disorders. He is the author of numerous publications and has been cited by his peers in the medical field, specifically for endoscopic sinus surgery and septal surgery. He is the founder of the L.A. Sinus Institute and has won numerous awards for his field of medicine.

William Fouts House was an American otologist, physician and medical researcher who developed and invented the cochlear implant. The cochlear implant is considered to be the first invention to restore not just the sense of hearing, but any of the absent five senses in humans. Dr. House also pioneered approaches to the lateral skull base for removal of tumors, and is considered "the Father of Neurotology."

The Bionics Institute is a biomedical research institute focusing on medical bionics. The Institute’s three core research themes are bionic hearing through cochlear implants, bionic vision through stimulation of the optic nerve and neurobionics through deep brain stimulation. The Bionics Institute is located in Melbourne, Australia.

Thomas J. Balkany, M.D. is an American ear surgeon, otolaryngologist and neurotologist specializing in cochlear implantation. He is the Hotchkiss Endowment Distinguished Professor and Chairman Emeritus in the Department of Otolaryngology and Professor of Neurological Surgery and Pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Additionally, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The Hear the World Foundation is a corporate nonprofit foundation founded by Sonova working towards equal opportunities and better quality of life for people with hearing loss. The Foundation operates as grant-giver supporting project-partnerships in four specific areas:

Jitendra Mohan Hans is an Indian Otorhinolaryngologist, medical researcher and the inventor of HANS speech valve for speech rehablitation after laryngeal cancer surgery. He is a founder member of the Cochlear Implant Group of India and has been a part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) sponsored project team that developed an indigenous Bionic Ear in 2014. Born on 27 November 1955, he graduated in medicine from the University of Meerut in 1978 He has served as the Honorary ENT Surgeon to the Prime Minister of India and is a government nominee at Ali Yajur Jung National Institute for Deafness, Mumbai and the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore. He is reported to have pioneered the minimally-invasive surgical techniques for cochlear implants and is a member of the advisory boards of the Union Public Service Commission and World Health Organization (WHO). The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2005, for his contributions towards medicine.

Mohan Kameswaran is an Indian otorhinolaryngologist, medical academic and the founder of MERF Institute of Speech and Hearing, a Chennai-based institution providing advanced training in audiology and speech-language pathology. He is one of the pioneers of cochlear implant surgery in India and a visiting professor at Rajah Muthiah Medical College of the Annamalai University and Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai. He has many firsts to his credit such as the performance of the first auditory brain stem implantation surgery in South and South East Asia, the first pediatric brain stem implantation surgery in Asia, the first totally implantable hearing device surgery in Asia Pacific region, and the first to introduce KTP/532 laser-assisted ENT surgery in India. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2006, for his contributions to Indian medicine.

References

↑ Smith, Barbara (20 March 2012). "Ear Research Foundation wants to reach those who can't hear". Herald Tribune. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
↑ "Girl is on the road to hearing". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. June 1, 2006.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Smith, Barbara (20 March 2012). "Ear Research Foundation wants to reach those who can't hear". Herald Tribune. Retrieved 16 October 2018.

[2] "Girl is on the road to hearing". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. June 1, 2006.