Otology & Neurotology

Houston Methodist ENT Specialists at Houston Methodist Hospital provides comprehensive medical and surgical care for ear disorders. Our goal is to empower patients to make informed and confident decisions in choosing the best nonsurgical or surgical treatment option based on his or individual health goals.

 

We provide access to leading technology and methodologies along with the clinical expertise to deliver accurate diagnoses of hearing and balance problems. Our specialist, Jeffrey T. Vrabec, MD, FACS, is board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology with added certification in the subspecialty of neurotology. Dr. Vrabec has been treating ear disorders for over 25 years and is one of the most experienced ear surgeons in the Greater Houston area.

SERVICES AND TREATMENTS

Audiology

  • Comprehensive hearing assessment
  • Hearing aids
  • Cochlear implants and bone conduction hearing aids
  • Works with major companies/brands to repair devices

Ear Surgery

  • Stapedectomy — surgery for otosclerosis
  • Tympanoplasty (eardrum repair)
  • Cholesteatoma surgery
  • Mastoid surgery/chronic ear drainage
  • Cochlear implants
  • Bone conduction hearing aids
  • Vestibular schwannoma and temporal bone tumors

Vestibular Testing

  • Electronystagmography (ENG)/Videonystagmography (VNG)
  • vestibular (balance) system testing to identify inner ear abnormalities causing dizziness and balance problems

  • Rotary chair testing

  • Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP)

  • Electroneuronography (ENoG)
  • noninvasive test to assess facial nerve functions using electrical stimulation

WHAT WE TREAT

Dizziness and Imbalance

  • Superior canal dehiscence syndrome
  • Meniere's disease
  • Vestibular hypofunction
  • Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
  • Vestibular diagnosis

Hearing Disorders

  • Sudden hearing loss
  • Conductive or sensorineural hearing loss
  • Aural atresia
  • Cholesteatoma
  • Otosclerosis
  • Tympanic membrane perforation (ruptured eardrum)

Tumors of the Ear

  • Vestibular schwannoma (acoustic neuroma)
  • Facial nerve tumors
  • Cerebrospinal fluid  (CSF) leak
  • Glomus tumors (paragangliomas)
  • Malignant tumors of the temporal bone