River Cities Ear Nose and Throat Specialists

	For further information contact:
	B. Joseph Touma, M.D. Touma Ear and Balance Center 1616 13th Avenue, Suite 100 Huntington, WV 25701 304.522.8800 or 800.955.3277

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Advances in Diagnosis & Treatment of Ear Diseases

Many recent advances in diagnosing and treating ear diseases enable the ear specialist to make an early diagnosis of ear ailments and institute some of the most advanced technology and techniques to correct the disease and improve the hearing. The following is a list of some of these advances:

Otoacoustic Emissions Test

Hearing loss can be detected in a matter of a few seconds, which enables the specialist to institute early intervention, such as hearing aids and medical or surgical treatment.

Auditory Brain Stem Testing

This technology enables us to detect hearing loss even in a premature infant. Early amplification can give an infant a chance to acquire language and be mainstreamed with other children.

Cochlear Implants

Patients with severe nerve deafness were neglected before electrodes could be implanted directly in the cochlea where the nerve of hearing originates.

Laser in Ear Surgery

Lasers allow the specialist to perform certain kinds of ear surgery more accurately with less trauma, resulting in better hearing and less side effects

Endoscopic Middle Ear Surgery

With small endoscopic middle ear scopes, the ear specialist can detect the condition of the windows to the inner ear, the bones in the middle ear, and disease in the middle ear without elevating the eardrum and exposing the patient to a more invasive operation.

MRI

MRI has enabled us to early detect a growth on the nerve of balance, which usually causes some ringing in one ear and progressive hearing loss in the same ear, with some imbalance.

For additional information or to make an appointment, please contact River Cities Ear, Nose & Throat Specialists, P.L.L.C. at (304) 522-8800 or (800) 955-3277.