About Us

Stanford Ear Institute

   

Philosophy

The SEI hearing health concept emphasizes integrated, multidisciplinary care incorporating a continuum of audiological testing, medical diagnosis and treatment, and rehabilitation.

SEI's team of Stanford faculty ear physicians, audiologists, and therapists work together to provide high quality, integrated, and convenient diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation services. We offer a full array of sophisticated microsurgery of the ear and the latest in high-tech hearing devices, including cochlear implants.

Health Care

The SEI provides care for children and adults with all kinds of ear problems including hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo/balance problems. Surgical ear diseases such as benign and malignant tumors (eg. acoustic neuroma, glomus jugulare, ear cancer), ear infections (chronic otitis media, cholesteatoma), injuries (eg. tympanic membrane perforation), congenital disorders (eg aural atresia), facial nerve disorders, and implantable auditory devices are a special focus.

The goal of the Stanford Ear institute (SEI) is to provide world-class care for people with diseases of the ear and related structures. We provide specialized, multidisciplinary care for a wide variety or ear problems including hearing loss, ear infections, ear tumors, and balance disorders.

Our care team of Stanford faculty ear physicians, audiologists, and therapists work together to provide high quality, integrated, and convenient diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation services. We offer the full array of sophisticated microsurgery of the ear and the latest of high tech hearing devices including cochlear implants.

The SEI Children’s Hearing Center provides family oriented, comprehensive medical services for the entire spectrum of hearing conditions in newborns, infants and children. Pediatric audiologists screen all newborns at Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and connect with schools and caregiving remotely through telemedicine systems.

Research

The primary focus of our research is regeneration of hair cells, the sound sensing cells of the inner ear that, if lost, are responsible for the majority of hearing losses.

SEI has a large research enterprise of some 100 basic scientists, engineers, and technicians. The engagement of our group of clinician–scientists reflects our philosophy that advances in clinical medicine are most likely to occur when scientists and clinicians work together towards a common purpose.

The Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss (SICHL) is our multidisciplinary, integrated research theme seeking to invent biological cures for inner ear hearing loss.

Expertise includes stem cell biology, auditory physiology, genetics, embryological development, microendoscopy, mathematical modeling of ear function, middle ear mechanics,  and development of electronic devices.

Education

The SEI has extensive educational programs. Stanford medical students and otolaryngology residents rotate through the SEI. Neurotology-Skull Base Surgery fellows spend 2-3 years acquiring advanced skills. Many SEI fellowship alumni have become prominent scholars and academic leaders in the field.

Every year the SEI hosts numerous visiting physicians from around the world. Our biannual continuing medical education course, the Stanford Otology Course, draws some 200 otologists to the 3-day curriculum.

Teaching facilities include the 12-station Perkins Microsurgery Teaching Laboratory and our Temporal Bone Simulation Center which offers virtual microsurgical training.