Surgery for Hearing Loss
When you need advanced care for hearing loss, UC San Diego Health is here for you.
Our ENT surgeons, also known as otologists, are among the nation's most highly trained experts in surgery to restore and preserve hearing.
As a patient with us, you have more treatment options and can expect a shorter hospital stay, faster recovery time and better surgical outcome.
Self-Referrals
You don't need a doctor's referral to schedule an appointment but your insurance may not cover the visit without one.
Conditions We Treat
Our ENT surgeons are highly skilled at treating a range of common and rare conditions that may cause hearing loss:
- Acoustic neuroma
- Autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED)
- Chronic ear infections
- Conductive hearing loss
- Ear pain associated with hearing loss
- Exostoses or "surfer's ear"
- Meniere’s disease
- Otosclerosis
- Ruptured ear drum
- Sensorineural hearing loss
- Sudden hearing loss
- Superior semicircular canal dehiscence
Diagnostic Tests
Prior to your first appointment with an ENT surgeon, you will likely be referred to our Audiology Services for comprehensive testing to determine the reason for your hearing loss. Your surgeon will carefully review the results of your diagnostic tests and discuss next steps with you.
If you have age-related hearing loss or other inoperable conditions, our audiologists can work with you on selecting and fitting you with the right hearing aid or assistive listening device. Your care may also include auditory rehabilitation and patient education.
Surgical Treatments and Support
Our ENT surgeons offer a range of minimally invasive, delicate microsurgical and advanced open procedures:
- Auditory brainstem implant surgery
- Bone anchored hearing aid fittings
- Bone-anchored implants, including minimally invasive Ponto surgery
- Canalplasty for exostoses
- Cochlear implant surgery
- Eustachian balloon tuboplasty
- Mastoidectomy
- Myringoplasty
- Myringotomy with or without tube placement
- Repair of superior semicircular canal dehiscence
- Surgery for cholesteatoma
- Surgery to repair ear drum perforations, discharge or infection
- Stapedectomy