Ear Surgeries and Procedures

A tympanoplasty repairs a perforated (torn) eardrum, which may result from infection, trauma or other causes. A hole in your eardrum increases the risk of recurrent ear infections and often causes hearing loss. This procedure restores the integrity of your eardrum, creating a healthier ear and improving hearing. 

The mastoid bone, located behind your ear, contains air cells that surround the middle and inner ear. When disease such as chronic infection or cholesteatoma develops, these air cells can fill with fluid or tissue. A mastoidectomy removes the infected or damaged tissue to prevent further complications. 
 
This surgery is usually scheduled ahead of time and performed as an outpatient procedure. In rare cases of severe mastoiditis, you may need to stay in the hospital for urgent surgery.

A cochlear implant is a specialized hearing device surgically implanted in the cochlea, a tube in the inner ear. It electrically stimulates nerve cells in the inner ear, allowing people to perceive sound and better understand speech. It has an external component that sits behind the ear and another component that is placed just under the skin. A cochlear implant can benefit you even if hearing aids haven’t because it bypasses the area that causes the hearing loss.

Unlike hearing aids, a cochlear implant does not make sounds louder. Instead, it stimulates the auditory nerve and transmits a signal to the brain that the brain recognizes as sound.

When you have otosclerosis, the stapes bone (which helps you hear) becomes fixed and no longer vibrates as it should to transmit sound. Laser stapedotomy is a highly precise procedure performed to help sound travel again. During the procedure, your surgeon uses a laser to make a small (0.6 mm) opening in your stapes bone and places a prosthesis to restore sound transmission.

Some children are born without a properly formed ear canal or eardrum. This can cause significant conductive hearing loss. In certain situations, a new ear canal and eardrum can be surgically created, and middle ear bones can be adjusted to greatly improve hearing.

Bone conduction implants provide hearing solutions for patients with conductive hearing loss who cannot use traditional hearing aids, such as those with chronic ear drainage and atresia. They can also be used by patients with single sided deafness.

Types include: 

• Active bone conduction implants: vibrate the skull directly and connect via a magnetic external processor. 

• Passive bone conduction implants: use an external processor that vibrates through a small skin-penetrating attachment. 

Your surgeon will review the best option for your hearing needs.

CSF otorrhea happens when the fluid that surrounds your brain leaks into your middle ear. This may cause clear drainage from your ear or a feeling of ear fullness. Because CSF leaks can increase your risk for meningitis, surgery is usually needed to address the problem. 
 
Smaller leaks can often be repaired by a neurotologist. If your condition is more complex, we may involve a skull base surgery team that includes both a neurotologist and a neurosurgeon.

An acoustic neuroma, or vestibular schwannoma, is a tumor of the hearing or balance nerve. Your symptoms may include hearing loss, dizziness, or facial weakness. Larger tumors may cause additional neurological complications.  
 
Your surgical removal is performed by a team of neurotologists and neurosurgeons who specialize in treating these tumors. They use surgical approaches tailored to the size of your tumor and specific health needs.

Your middle ear bones (malleus, incus, and stapes) work together to transmit sound. Trauma, infection, or cholesteatoma can damage these bones, leading to hearing loss. Ossicular chain reconstruction restores sound transmission by placing a tiny prosthesis to repair or replace the damaged bone(s).