Stanford Ear Institute Team Photo
We are happy to have received a lot of inquiries about the Stanford Ear Institute (SEI) here on the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss (SICHL) blog.
If you are interested in making an appointment to see one of the SEI clinicians, you can find out more information here. Or you can call (650) 723-5281.
Clinicians at the SEI can provide excellent care for patients of all ages with diseases of the inner ear and related structures. Please note, however, that it will still be a number of years before regenerative methods for curing hearing loss are proven to be beneficial in humans, though you can be assured that SICHL team members are working extremely hard towards achieving the goal as quickly as possible.
We wanted to share a question which was recently asked, as to why Stanford created the SEI:
We created the Stanford Ear Institute because we believe that the optimal way to help people with hearing loss and balance disorders is through a high degree of specialized expertise, multidisciplinary collaboration, and use of the latest technology. Stanford has long been renowned as a center for care of complex ear disease such as congenital deformities, profound deafness, ear tumors, and serious infections. With the opening of the Stanford Ear Institute we are broadening our scope to provide care for the full spectrum of ear disease from children with stubborn ear infections to seniors with aging related hearing loss. In June, we moved all aspects of our hearing health care team into a handsome new facility which was thoughtfully designed to optimize each patient’s experience. The design enables a person to have hearing testing, medical care, auditory training, and fitting of high tech devices in a single integrated location – often during the same visit.
Our 7 physicians limit their practice to the diagnosis and management of ear diseases, from the simple to the most complex, and offer both medical therapy and advanced microsurgical techniques. Our team of 16 doctoral level audiologists provide both sophisticated hearing testing as well as the latest technology hearing aid and other listening assistive devices. The Children’s Hearing Center provides family-oriented, comprehensive medical services for the entire range of hearing conditions in newborns, infants and children. Stanford’s renowned cochlear implant program restores hearing to children and adults with profound hearing loss. Patients with vertigo and equilibrium are cared for in our multidisciplinary Balance Center which includes advanced balance diagnostics and rehabilitation by specialized physical therapists.
As part of Stanford University, we are naturally focused upon innovation and discovery. Thirty-six million Americans have hearing loss including half of all seniors over the age of 70. While problems of the eardrum and hearing bones are mostly repairable today via microsurgery, the great majority of people with hearing loss have damage to the sound sensing cells (hair cells) in the inner ear (cochlea). Our team of over 80 scientists are focused on overcoming this most prevalent type of hearing loss through regenerating lost hair cells as part of the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss. We also conduct clinical research into improving cochlear implants, such as our BabyTalk telemedicine program, and studies whose goal is optimization of care for tumors of the ear and related structures. Our overarching purpose is to translate discoveries emanating from our research laboratories into novel therapies for our patients.
My 7 year daughter is diagnosed with moderate hearing loss and she is currently living with hearing support . Please let me know if I need to get more diagnosis for my kid, which is the right way to contact specialists in this group.
Saravanan- If you are in the local area, you can make an appointment with the clinicians at the SEI by calling (650)723-5281. They can certainly discuss your daughter’s diagnosis. Please understand though that our research to cure hearing loss by regenerative therapies is still confined to the laboratory and it is likely to be a number or years before it is shown to be safe and effective for use in humans.
I’ve recently become aware of your research at SICHL and as one who has suffered from profound hearing loss from noise related occupational damage, I’m encouraged to see the promise of future regeneration of hair follicles in the cochlea. I was wondering if clinical trials are anticipated for furthering the research? If so, I would be willing to participate.
James White
James, Thank you for your comments and for your kind offer. We are not yet in clinical trials, and as such are not keeping a list of volunteers. This blog and our newsletter are the best places to keep up with our latest news and developments.
Donor, frequent visitor, and father of a 1 year old CI user here. I’m beyond grateful to know that such a talented group is chipping away at an issue that affects so many and has the potential to eradicate all of the compromises they must make in life.
My heartrate goes up a little every time I see / read about the regenerative therapies some of you are working on.
Know that you’re all being cheered on by many as you go. Thank you!
Andy – Thank you so much for your supportive words!
It may come as a surprise to some that in an era where medical science has made profound advancements over the past few decades, there are still areas where more research and experimentation is needed for deceptively complex functions such as hearing. As a twenty-one year old who has suffered some hearing damage from an audio accident (albeit minor compared to others), I have great hope that teams such as yours will be able to help pave the way to reducing the problems experienced by those with NiHL.
Regards and thanks,
Zain
Zain,
Thank you for you words of support for our researchers. You are right, hearing is a very complex process and and still requires further investigation. With dedicated research teams, such as ours at Stanford, we hope to continue to make strides towards understanding the proces and towards curing hearing loss.