Brandon Isaacson, M.D. Answers Questions On: Causes and Treatments of Hearing Loss

The main causes of hearing loss that I treat are eardrum perforations; otosclerosis, a metabolic bone disorder of the inner ear; congenital hearing loss; age- and noise-induced hearing loss; and tumors of the ear and temporal bone.

Using therapies ranging from hearing aids to surgery, we’re able to improve hearing for the vast majority of patients, depending upon their conditions.

Using minimally invasive endoscopic surgery, we’re able to treat conditions that range from eardrum perforations to middle-ear masses (cholesteatoma, paraganglioma) to congenital hearing abnormalities related to the tiny bones in the middle ear (ossicles).

Endoscopic ear surgery is great because patients recover quickly. Because we can go through the ear canal, they don’t have a big incision behind their ear to recover from.

Many patients are told that nothing can be done for their conditions – that they just have to live with them – and that’s really not the case. 

There are a lot of great options for managing a range of issues – from hearing loss to ringing in the ears (tinnitus) to temporal-bone tumors. There may not always be a cure, but there are things we can do to greatly improve patients’ quality of life.

Otology and neurotology specialists at UT Southwestern give patients a complete picture of what’s going on, and they offer a full range of the most advanced treatment options.