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Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is America's largest, yet least recognized ailment. Each year, one in every ten Americans is diagnosed as having some form of a hearing loss. And, hearing loss knows no age or gender boundary.

Today, Hinsdale Hospital's Center for Hearing Restoration and Ear Research is bringing help to patients and their families. Many of the otolaryngologists on staff at Hinsdale Hospital are part of the Center, restoring hearing to many who have lost the ability to hear the voices of loved ones, or the sounds of everyday life.

What is the Center?

The Center for Hearing Restoration and Ear Research is:

• Experienced physicians who are knowledgeable in ear disease, hearing loss diagnosis and management.
• A place for educating medical residents and fellows in the field of Otology and Neurotology, a subspecialty of Ear, Nose and Throat that treats diseases of the ear and related structures.
• A clinical testing-ground involved with testing new therapies for clinically-applied research, including cochlear implants and implantable hearing devices.

Who does the Center serve, and how can they access these services?

The Center for Hearing Restoration and Ear Research offers patients and their families a comprehensive range of diagnostic services and surgical treatments for ear and hearing ailments, including ear drum perforations, otosclerosis, acoustic tumors, balance disorders and facial nerve problems.

In addition to our adult patients, pediatric patients have access to expert care at the Center, ranging from treatment of ear infections to more serious disorders, including the surgical implantation of middle ear implants.

A major focus at the Center is educating patients, their families and the community how to recognize the early warning signs of hearing loss, and to provide information on the latest treatment options.

The Center's physicians can be reached by calling the Physician Referral Center at (630) 856-7500.

About hearing loss

Hearing loss is a common condition that affects both young children and older adults. For children, approximately 1 of every 1,000 newborn is deaf. Many more children are born with less severe degrees of hearing impairment, while others develop hearing impairment during childhood.

Reduced hearing acuity during infancy and early childhood interferes with the development of speech and verbal language skills. Reduced auditory input also adversely affects the developing hearing nervous system and can have harmful effects on social, emotional, cognitive, and academic development, as well as on a person's vocational and economic potential.

For adults, one in three people older than 60 and half of those older than 85 have hearing loss. Hearing loss can make it hard to enjoy talking with friends and family, which can lead to social isolation.

Many treatment options for hearing loss are now available. These treatments range from medicines to hearing aids to the newest surgically implanted hearing devices.

Acoustic Neuroma

An acoustic neuroma is a benign, often slow-growing tumor that arises from one of the balance nerves. There is an approximately 1/100,000 incidence in the United States. This translates to approximately 2,500 newly diagnosed tumors per year.

Hearing loss in one ear is the most common symptom of an acoustic neuroma. Some patients with hearing loss will describe a feeling of ear fullness rather than complain of hearing loss.

The founding physicians of the Center have a combined experience of treating over a 1,000 patients with acoustic neuroma. Treatment for acoustic neuroma can vary from serial radiographic imaging to radiation to surgery.

CENTER FOR HEARING RESTORATION AND EAR RESEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Richard J. Wiet, M.D., Chair
Robert Battista, M.D.
Richard Bulger, M.D.v
Samuel Girgis, M.D.
James Rejowski, M.D.
Jesse Wardlow, M.D.

For more information about Hinsdale Hospital's Center for Hearing Restoration and Ear Research, please call the Physician Referral Center at (630) 856-7500.