The Ear Institute at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) sets itself apart from other institutions by bringing together, under one roof, a highly specialized and comprehensive multidisciplinary team of professionals focused on ear and balance disorders. Medical or surgical interventions are augmented by onsite testing services and therapies, all part of 360 degrees of care.

Highly Specialized Care Team

The treatment process at the Ear Institute often begins with your primary care doctor or family pediatrician, who will refer you or your child to one of our otolaryngologists. This ear, nose, and throat specialist will determine the nature of the problem underlying the hearing loss, and whether it is medically or surgically treatable. In addition to the rigorous training to become a board certified otolaryngologist, the Ear Institute’s doctors have additional training in specific areas of the ear and facial nerves, including disorders of the ear’s vestibular system. Our team of ENT specialists therefore includes otologists and neurotologists, who may become involved in discussing medical and surgical options and developing a personalized treatment plan for each patient. The specific nature of your condition will determine the type of specialist or subspecialist that will be part of your care team. An otologist, for example, treats disorders of the external, middle, and inner ear, such as ear infections, neurosensory hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo. Neurotology, on the other hand, includes treatment of disorders of the skull base, such as acoustic neuromas, meningiomas, glomus tumors, and facial nerve disorders.

At the Ear Institute, our otolaryngologists/otologist-neurotologists work closely with audiologists, who are licensed and highly skilled clinicians trained in performing a battery of hearing tests to determine the nature and severity of a hearing or balance disorder. If the need for amplification exists, the audiologist will help the patient select an assistive listening device, such as a hearing aid, and also help with the fitting, training, and ongoing maintenance of the device.

Comprehensive Support Services for Children

If the hearing impairment involves a child, additional professionals at the Ear Institute become involved, providing one of the largest, most experienced and cohesive teams of pediatric hearing specialists in the country. Its members include speech-language pathologists, who evaluate the impact of your child’s hearing loss on speech and language development, then help the child learn proper speech production, including articulation of speech sounds. Early intervention specialists help parents understand their child’s hearing disorder, how they can help to enhance their speech and language development, and what community resources are available to assist them. Rounding out the pediatric team is an educational specialist, who works with the family to ensure the hearing-challenged child receives the proper government-funded educational services and school placements, as well as a social worker to help build the child’s confidence and socialization skills.