Once again, the Alabama Ear Institute will have its annual Summer Institute in July. Here's what they say:
"In continued response to requests from educational professionals who are experiencing a growing number of children with hearing loss attending local school systems, the Alabama Ear Institute will once again conduct its annual Summer Institute as a two-week format designed to address the growing concerns and needs of educational professionals who provide services to children with hearing loss in an educational setting."
Look for more information to come and stay tuned to their website (click here).
If you missed the 9 p.m. news last night, Dr. Audie Woolley was featured during an interview about cochlear implants. They continued the story right inside the O.R. and even showed patient Olivia's ear as the ear was prepped and ready for insertion of the cochlear implant. Mom to Olivia was interviewed right outside in the waiting area and could not be more grateful for the opportunity Dr. Woolley and his team of professionals are providing for their daughter. They have another child already wearing a cochlear implant.
Within the last few weeks, Fox 6 has featured Lilly Mooresmith (who was also in the Dr. Woolley story demonstrating how to listen) on their show and Gage Blakely as one of Mickey's Weather Kids, all to help promote the upcoming event Hear Me Roar which anchor Janice Rogers is associated with this year. You may have seen the commercial for the event which has been airing for weeks and also contains several photos of children in our area with hearing loss. The Hear Me Roar Dinner and Auction will be on March 31 this year to raise funds for speech and hearing impaired children in Alabama. To find out more about the event, visit the Charity League's website.
A local ENT, Dr. Audie Woolley, was recently featured in the magazine ENT Today. Click here to read the full article. The article was about the benefits of bilateral cochlear implants. Bama Ears ran a series of interviews with Dr. Woolley called Chronicles of an Extreme ENT back in 2009.
A few months ago, I was invited to observe a pre-school class at The Alabama School for the Hearing currently housed at The Canterbury United Methodist Church in Birmingham, AL. Children's Hospital and Alabama Ear Institute collaborated to give parents of hearing-impaired children a preschool that focuses on developing and increasing verbal language skills through listening. According to Nancy Gregg (Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist) who teaches at the school, "The curriculum is literacy- and language-based. Each child also receives individual parent-centered therapy sessions." She encourages parents interested in the school to come by and visit, which is exactly what I did.
When I entered the classroom, I first noticed the beaming faces of these young children. All had smiles and seemed to be having a great time. The teachers (all Certified AVTs) were very patient with the kids and the small group size made it easy for everyone to speak, be heard, and listen to others. A classroom sound field FM system made teachers easier to hear through the children's hearing devices. They sang songs, they had lunch, they played, and they were encouraged to listen and speak the entire time. Not a minute was wasted when valuable language and listening skills could be incorporated throughout the day.
Currently, classes are held three days a week at the large and beautiful church, tucked away just outside of the busy streets of Birmingham. If you have a hearing-impaired child in Alabama (ages 3-7) and are interested in learning more about this school, feel free to email Nancy for more info.
Sunday Nov. 8, was the Children's HEAR Center family "get together". Many families turned out for the gorgeous day at the park to swing...
...to participate in many arts and crafts activities...
to have their
faces painted...
and to just hang out with their therapist...
Thank you HEAR Center for providing all the fun for the families you serve. What a great way for people to connect who share a passion for children with hearing loss.
Jackie Maddox, a Service Coordinator for the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB), knew she wanted to be a social worker after watching the movie Annie as a little girl. Jackie said she wanted to help children and keep them away from Ms. Hannigan so her mom suggested she become a social worker when she grew up and she did just that! Jackie loves coordinating resources and services for families. When she's not at work, she and husband Wes travel, take care of Katy (their miniature schnauzer) and enjoy Bread. She not only listens to Bread, being a huge music fan, but you may now see her eating plenty of it as well! This mommy-to-be will soon put her coordinating and managing skills to work in her own home as she and Wes expect their first born (other than the dog!).
Bama Ears asked Jackie to describe this unique partnership program that AIDB and the Children's HEAR Center have.
"I am a service coordinator who is contracted at the HEAR Center in Birmingham to provide EI (early intervention) services to children who are hearing impaired through AIDB. We serve children in a variety of ways. Some receive services at the HEAR Center and some receive services in their community. Each family has a plan that is individualized to meet their needs. We have therapists that serve in our AIDB regional center, day care settings, community settings, or home. I am a statewide Service Coordinator, so I am able to use therapists and resources in a family’s local community. A family is given the option to be served at the HEAR Center if they choose. This program opens up options in service provision."
Looking at AIDB's website we found they have many regional centers throughout the state to better serve their families. This taken directly from their site explains:
"Nine Regional Centers throughout Alabama serve people from birth all the way through life, helping them connect with the local resources they need to live a rich, full life."...
..."Each Regional Center – located in Auburn, Birmingham, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Talladega, Tuscaloosa and Tuscumbia - offers a unique mixture of services, because each Center has been developed according to the needs of the community it serves. The AIDB Regional Center network began in 1980 with early intervention programs serving infants, toddlers and their families. For more information, please see http://www.aidb.org/. If you have questions about the developmental concerns of an infant or toddler, please contact Child Find at 1-800-543-3098."
Bama Ears recently had a chance to talk to Emma, a Social Work Administrator for CRS (Children's Rehab Services). We asked Emma to explain what CRS is and who is eligible. Here is what she told Bama Ears.
"Established in 1935, Children’s Rehabilitation Services (CRS) is a division of the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services. CRS is a statewide organization of skilled, well-trained professionals committed to providing quality, individualized services to children and youth with special health care needs in homes, schools and other community settings. Any child younger than 21 who is a resident of Alabama and has a special health care need is eligible for CRS. Individuals of all ages with hemophilia are eligible. Families participate in the cost of services for their child based on a sliding fee schedule and by using any Medicaid or insurance coverage."
What services does CRS offer? "CRS services are available to children and youth in every county in Alabama through a network of 15 community-based offices. The CRS network provides specialty clinic and other services by doctors, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, occupational therapists and registered dietitians. Services include medications, surgery, assistive technology, hearing aids, hospitalization and much more."
What happens when a child ages out of Children's Rehab Services and they still need help?
"All adolescents in CRS receive transition services from a trained social work transition specialist. All eligible CRS youth are referred to Vocational Rehabilitation Service (VRS) to receive assistance with college or job placement. VRS provides specialized employment- and education-related services and training to assist teens and adults with disabilities in becoming employed. In addition, VRS works with middle schools, high schools, junior colleges and universities statewide to assist students with disabilities in receiving appropriate educational opportunities. The ultimate goal of CRS is to transition youth with special health care needs to all aspects of adult life, including adult health care, work and independence."
What if a child has more than one disability? Are you guys equipped to handle multiple needs?
"CRS has well-trained staff that work on a daily basis with children and adolescents who have dual diagnoses. We offer specialty clinical medical programs and clinical evaluation programs in order to meet the needs of this special population."
Bama Ears specifically asked Emma what CRS can do for our hearing impaired children in Alabama.
"CRS offers hearings services, which include Newborn Hearing Screening, Hearing Assessment Clinic, Hearing Clinic and Hearing Aid Clinic. CRS audiologists have the experience to provide top-notch audiological services to Alabama's children. With state-of-the-art testing equipment, children receive the same quality evaluations on a local level that they would receive in larger facilities. If a child is found to need hearing aids, the audiologist has a vast selection of hearing aid companies and products to choose from. Many of these products would cost the parents $1,700 to $3,600 per set if purchased from a private clinic."
Alabama Ear Institute (AEI) held its 6th annual Summer Institute in Auditory-Verbal Therapy last month in Birmingham, AL under the AEI Auditory-Verbal Mentoring Program. This program has included over 1200 professionals receiving training since it began in 2003. The two-week Summer Institute not only provides these professionals with workshops to increase their knowledge but also allows them to practice and improve their therapy skills with the families who volunteer to participate as therapy recipients. The professional participants actually divide into teams and conduct A-V therapy under coaching and guidance of a LSLS Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist. These professional participants are primarily those who provide services to children with hearing loss and their families such as Speech-Language Pathologists, Special Education Teachers, Teachers of the Deaf, and Audiologists. So far the participants have arrived at AEI's program from thirty states (Canada and Argentina as well) and have included members of university hospital cochlear implant teams, State Schools for the Deaf, nationally acknowledged Oral Schools for the Deaf and many more! Here is some of the participant feedback:
"For the first time, I feel like I was being evaluated to help me improve my skills and not just a job performance."
"For the first time, I attended a workshop where I actually learned skills I can use. I am seeing results in the children I work with already and it has only been four weeks!"
Harry Wooten, executive Vice President of AEI says,
"The Alabama Ear Institute gratefully acknowledges the support of our families and precious children without whom we would not be able to provide this training. Because of their willingness to help, professionals all across the country are now impacting the quality of life for children with hearing loss and their families in their communities."
Please feel free to read the first two stories about Dr. Audie Woolley before you proceed. To read the first edition click here. To read the second edition click here.
For our final installment of Extreme ENT, you’re going to find out where you may find this doctor when he’s not improving the lives of children. But first, we want to tell you where you won’t find him. You won’t find this ENT getting his nails done or going out for a spray tan, he's too busy clubbing...
…at many of the top 100 golf courses in the world that is! He’s won several events in the last decade and has played the game since he was ten years old. He’s even played in Scotland and Ireland twice. He’s never hit a hole in one despite all his efforts but he’ll keep trying I'm sure.
You won’t see the doctor in a pair of plaid pants either, but you may be surprised that you could find him in a pair of camouflaged ones. He grew up an avid deer hunter and though he doesn’t get to go as often now, you could possibly find him in a field somewhere during turkey season, but you will have to look really close because he does have several pieces of camo in his wardrobe.
You won’t find Dr. Audie Woolley getting his hair and make-up done either…or would you?
If he’s at the Indian Princess Campout with his daughter Emme, you might actually find just that. She painted him up just right for their campout event where he claims all of the dad’s were painted by their daughters.
You won’t find him spending his vacations learning a new trade such as sewing or baking, he has to be outdoors! Every year, he takes his three boys with him on a wild and dangerous, energy packed and fun filled scenic adventure. This year they went on a 100-mile mountain biking trip in Utah. But they’ve traveled to Yellowstone, Ocoee River, the Grand Canyon…if it’s adventurous, they’ve either already done it, or have it on their “to do” list. Next year, they take on Peru.
Whether he’s getting his face painted by his daughter, or standing on the edge of a cliff with his sons, this doctor is quite extreme at work and at play. Give this man a Dave Matthew’s Band song and he can stand for hours in the operating room in attempt to help a child hear. Give him a good pair of hiking shoes and he’ll climb up to the highest cliff. For this father of four, it’s got to be extreme!
....well, not exactly. This week Bama Ears was able to peek into the life of Assistant Director and Pediatric Cochlear Implant Audiologist at the Children's HEAR Center, Mandy Mahalak. Mandy may not be an Alabama native but she sure knew how to make herself feel right at home here in Bama. Since moving to Alabama years ago, this volleyball/tennis playing gal has not only been seen eating a fried green tomato but fried okra as well. And now that she's eating for two (again!) you may see her sampling more of what Alabama cuisine has to offer.
Mandy doesn't quite have the Southern accent down yet but we are working with her on that so hopefully by the time baby number #2 gets here (it's a boy), she'll be speaking right along with her Southern peers. You may find us in the booth working on Spondee words such as "hot dawg". Her receptive skills are fantastic and her speech is bound to catch up sooner or later. She's very proud that she's adopted the word y'all already into her vocabulary. We gave Mandy a Southern Vocabulary test just to see areas that may show weakness and here are the results. Right away Mandy knew the words doohickey saying it was the same as thingamabob and that dad burn it means darn it. However, she did have problems with the word orta, which we all know means should, and the term walla go obviously means a while ago. I did go over the results with her and since we are not bound by HIPPA privacy treaties here at Bama Ears, she does understand the results would be displayed.
We asked Mandy why she chose pediatric audiology and and she claims she loves to work with children. She likes the challenge of working with kids and says it's never a dull a moment when you work in pediatrics. We asked if she had experience working with children with multiple needs as well since almost half of all kids with hearing loss experience other issues also.
"I am fortunate enough to be able to work with children with many special needs. Children with short attention spans are not uncommon in our patient base. We also work with many patients with different syndromes, vision impairments, cerebral palsy, and autism to name a few. This is part of the challenge that keeps me going on a day to day basis. You really have to be patient and creative to get the information and participation you need from any child, then add on an additional impairment other than deafness and the challenges becomes greater. I love my job, and I am blessed that I have the opportunity to make a difference in all types of children's' lives."
We thank Mandy for letting us peek inside her life a bit. When not at the HEAR Center helping our kids hear better, she's at home with Brian, Lucy, and their two dogs watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 when she's not rocking out to Guitar Hero. This cool mom of soon to be four (if you count her dogs...and she does!) tries to stay current by keeping up with the latest top 10 songs on the radio but she really prefers listening to Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffet, any song from the 80's and Veggietales (a true mom). This audiologist is determined to prove that you don't have to be Bama born to be a Southern girl.
Every so often Bama Ears would like to shine the Bright Light on an exceptional parent. Our first to highlight is Mrs. Jennifer Andress. Her two children are hearing impaired due to Connexin 26. John (age 6) is currently using hearing aids, and Will (age 4 ½) wears bilateral cochlear implants. Jennifer serves as V.P. of the Service Guild, which is a service organization solely dedicated to The Bell Center’s Early Intervention Programs. When she’s not running marathons chasing after her two boys, she's running them for The Bell Center partners-in-training program for the Mercedes Marathon. She and husband Keith also run in Atlanta’s Thanksgiving Day Marathon as well as other races in our area. Looking at her active lifestyle you would never guess her past. Here’s a little hint ...
(She and her son John are closing the van's back door.)
When her first child, John, was 11 months old, he needed tubes for his ears, and this is when they found out he had a hearing loss. With Jennifer already carrying baby number two, John was fitted for aids and soon after, she found out she had precancerous growth in one of her breasts. She has a long history of breast cancer in her family so while 24 weeks pregnant and a 1-year-old, she had a mastectomy. A few months later baby Will was born, and she soon began radiation. But before that treatment began came Will’s hearing tests, in which he was also determined to have hearing impairment just like his big brother.
A few months after completing her radiation, Jennifer had a second prophylactic mastectomy and breast reconstruction with an eight-week recovery period. Remember, Jennifer also has two hearing-impaired children to care for, but she manages along with her very supportive and loving husband. Within weeks of her final recovery, baby Will had his first cochlear implant surgery and a year later had his second.
Jennifer says she’s had great support throughout from all of their doctors, health care professionals, church, friends, family, and notes “God is great!" Today when she’s not making commercials for Breast Cancer Awareness, or helping with the Bell Center’s service organization, or running half-marathons, she’s preparing John for first grade and still has a year to prep Will for kindergarten. Congratulations, Jennifer, Bama's Bright Light is shining on you, a true inspiration.
If you would like to nominate someone as an exceptional parent for Bama's Bright Light, please email us at bamaears@yahoo.com .They need to be an Alabama Parent of at least one child with hearing loss.
When you find out your child has hearing loss, often times you are offered genetic counseling/testing. Why would parents want to have their genes or their child's genes put under the microscope? Should we just accept that “it is what it is” or “it was just meant to be?” It is a very personal choice, and we wanted to give you our thoughts on why we chose genetic testing. There are several benefits of genetic counseling:
1. As children get older, they will have questions such as “Why me?” or “Why don’t my ears work?” or a number of other questions that you need to be able to answer. 2. Also, when children become adults and want a family of their own, is there any likelihood that they too will have deaf children? Or was their hearing loss an isolated case?
3. Having the counseling can also help you answer questions such as, "What is our risk to have another child with hearing loss?" "Should we have more children? Do we want to have more children?” Some people really struggle with these questions that can be an emotional concern as well as a financial and a major health concern.
4. Health! Up to 40 percent of children with hearing loss have other issues, which is almost half of the kids with hearing loss (according to www.raisingdeafkids.org/speical)! Sometimes children may have an underlying syndrome, and hearing loss is secondary to that syndrome. Many kids with syndromes may appear to be fine to the untrained eye, but with a full exam from a genetics specialist, it may be determined that the child has syndromic hearing loss. Finding this out ahead of time can really be beneficial. A child with a syndrome may need other testing to determine if there are other complications or concerns that need to be addressed. Sometimes as a child with a syndrome ages, other things develop that can cause concern that could possibly be addressed earlier. The child could develop cognitive delays, growth abnormalities or visual impairments, ADHD, or even more serious developments such as kidney or heart or spinal problems. Having these issues addressed in the beginning can help you decide which follow-up care or continuing care to pursue for your child. It helps you be on the lookout for certain issues to develop, and if they do, you’ll know whom to contact.
5. Relief. Genetic counselors can also test for nonsyndromic hearing loss. For example, a mutation in the connexin 26 gene (called GJB2) causes only hearing loss, so if your child has that gene mutation and nothing else, you’re pretty well assured that hearing loss is all you’re dealing with. Mutations in other genes can be associated with other medical problems.
We wanted to talk more with Dr. Nathaniel Robin, Professor of Genetics and Pediatrics at UAB, on the subject of genetics and here’s what he says...
"As you mentioned, there are many benefits to a visit to the geneticist. But because very few people even know what a geneticist is, they are often nervous about coming to see us. A visit to the geneticist is very similar to any other doctor visit in some ways, but very different in others. For example, we spend a lot of time getting background information on your child as well as your family. Then, when I examine your child I look for very subtle things, like facial characteristics. Are the ears and nose normal in appearance? Are there unusual birthmarks, or fingerprint patterns? This is mostly done just by looking and observing, very little poking. If there is no other unusual findings, we often recommend testing for isolated hearing loss genes. However, if there are other findings we discuss what they mean, and what testing if any should be carried out. Genetic testing typically involves nothing more invasive than a simple blood draw. All in all, most people find these visits helpful, as many questions are answered, or at least addressed. A visit can get very emotional, and parents will often become upset because we are discussing potential health risks for their child. We always follow up each visit with a comprehensive and detailed note, as well as additional reading material as appropriate. Another often unspoken concern is if a genetic evaluation and testing is covered by insurance. The answer is almost always yes, but if that is a concern we can check before your visit. To make an appointment with UAB's Genetic Clinic call 205-934-9528."
So you can see, at least in our opinions, a visit to the genetics office can be quite beneficial. Talk to your audiologist or ENT about genetic testing if you are interested and they will surely point you in the right direction.
If you haven’t read the first chapter please click HERE and read that article first.
Continuing our series on one of Alabama’s most beloved ENTs, Dr. Audie Woolley, we promised to give reason for the name, Extreme ENT…. We start with the question “How does one become an Extreme ENT?”
Do you think it’s his medical training? After all, he did learn to improve the health and lives of children. Not everyone can do that. He received his residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck surgery at Washington University in St. Louis and then did a pediatric fellowship with concentration in ear surgery and cochlear implants. I mean he is Clinical Associate Professor of Otolaryngology, Surgery and Pediatrics along with several other medical related titles he holds. Hmmm…
Cholesteatoma Surgery, tympanoplasties, ossiculoplasties, he can say them and perform these surgical procedures without expecting the parents to spell them, say them or even know what they are. Yet he can explain with patience and regular vocabulary each medical term so that the parents are confident and trust his skills even if he still looks as if he’s fresh out of med school…(he’s not by the way!)
Nope!! We parents sort of expect that from our doctors; we all want the best, seek the best and hope we have picked the best. We are certainly relieved when the surgeon who is about to attempt to help a deaf child hear, or maybe help a child breathe easier with airway reconstruction, or even placing simple ear tubes, has earned scholarly awards (oh yeah, he entered college on an academic scholarship and graduated Magna Cum Laude, we’re talking BRAIN POWER here)….
He’s earned this title of Extreme ENT only partially for those reasons; it actually has a little to do with this…
…his gorgeous family, with wife Ally holding everyone and everything together. They were college sweethearts and eventually married and had three sons and a daughter ranging in ages from 8-21. He says that she’s a great mom and an awesome wife. He notes she has always supported him both professionally and recreationally…and what he does recreationally has officially earned him the title of Extreme ENT. Truth be known, the whole clan is a little extreme with Ally being queen of the slopes and Emme (8) the little princess is taking horse riding lessons. As for Dr. Woolley and their three sons…well, you’ll have to stay tuned to find out what all they do! Here’s a hint: Adventure and danger…they love it!
Sometimes it helps learning more about your doctor to have that trust and understand that he/she too may have a family…children. Maybe the doctor realizes being a parent himself/herself, how difficult some decisions can be. Stay tuned to learn more, you just might have more in common with this doctor than you think! We’ll find out next about those extreme adventures and what he does for recreation, we’ve already ruled out line dancing…but some things just might surprise you, when Extreme ENT continues…
“What does it sound like to take a bath?” This is just one of many questions I’ve been asked since becoming a parent to deaf children. I had to frantically search my mental thesaurus to describe to my children how the water sounds to me but feels to them. By day, they wear cochlear implants, electronic devices where one part is surgically implanted under the skin near the ear. A second part, the external processor, is removable by the patient during activities such as swimming, bathing and sleeping. Once removed, my children are in a world of silence.
My son Gage, was born with Goldenhar Syndrome, explained by Dr. Nathaniel Robin, Professor of Genetics and Pediatrics at UAB.“This is a rare craniofacial disorder in which affected children have underdevelopment of the face and ears, with one side being more severely affected than the other. Hearing is often affected, and other birth defects are common. These include abnormalities of the eye, spine, heart and kidneys. While the physical appearance may be striking, the vast majority of people with Goldenhar have normal intelligence. This is why early identification and correction of any hearing deficit is so important.”
Among many other abnormalities noted at birth, he failed his newborn hearing screening ... he was profoundly deaf. Little did I know that his little sister Brooklyn, born two and a half years later, would follow his path to silence. Passing her newborn hearing screening and with no apparent syndrome, you can imagine my surprise when I found out she couldn’t hear well at nine months of age. Her brother had just received a cochlear implant, so shouldn’t I have seen the warning signs?
Unlike her profoundly deaf brother, she had some hearing, so if I raised my voice or moved in closer, she could hear me. Having one deaf child already, this was “our normal.” Her progressive hearing loss soon led her to qualify for cochlear implants also. Knowing that Gage had a syndrome, a reason for his deafness, we decided to have genetic testing on the whole family since she may question her hearing loss later in life or when she decided to have children of her own. No genetic links between the two were found as reason for their hearing loss.
As Dr. Robin further explains, “Over half of all hearing loss in children is caused by genetic factors. In most cases, these genetic anomalies cause no other abnormalities, and are therefore termed ‘isolated.’ In other cases there are associated problems, and the hearing loss is called ‘syndromic.’ But the genetic cause is not known for all syndromes. Goldenhar is one such example. While we believe it is low, we cannot with certainty state what the likelihood is that Gage or his siblings will have a hearing-impaired child.”
Ironically, it is possible for deaf children to become good listeners. According to Natalie Baldwin, an Auditory-Verbal Therapist/Speech-Language Pathologist at The Children’s HEAR Center,“It is my job to educate the family how to stimulate speech, language and auditory development in their child. Through weekly sessions, we target vocabulary, language, listening and speech tasks that will help the child develop just like their typically hearing peers.” Natalie warns that even a minimal hearing loss can impact a child’s speech and language development. If you have concerns regarding your child’s hearing, she suggests you ask your pediatrician for a referral to a pediatric audiologist.
It’s common practice at my house to narrate daily activities. In fact, this part of auditory-verbal therapy could benefit almost all children, with or without hearing loss, since its focus is language input. When it’s time to cook dinner, I let them help, exposing them to as much language as possible. Also, I may ask them retell the list of ingredients in a dish to Dad during a meal, giving them a chance to verbalize and improve their memory skills. So try to include the children in your daily activities, they might become better listeners!
Bama Ears recently had an opportunity to talk to a local ENT who’s been giving more than the gift of sound to his patients. This doctor with an ironic name, Dr. Audie Woolley, has recently co-founded The Alabama School for the Hearing, and is Medical Director of the Cochlear Implant Program at Children’s Hospital. He’s performed just over 280 cochlear implant surgeries and over 50 BAHA surgeries. He’s also written numerous manuscripts for scientific journals as well as various other publications.
But this doctor is also a professor in his field. He says he loves teaching the residents. He notes that giving them the tricks of his trade and sharing his experience will benefit these new doctors and allow them to help more patients than he himself will ever come in contact with. But what we found out is he’s sharing more than his wisdom inside the O.R. Though he wouldn’t admit to belting out a solo performance, he does admit that music is a big part of his life, and enjoys hearing it during his many hours spent each week in the operating room. Whether he’s providing a child with a surgically implanted hearing device, performing atresia surgery (no ear canals), or any other head/neck surgery such as tracheotomies, cyst and tumor excisions and a variety of other surgical procedures in the field of otology and otolaryngology, music is likely playing in the background.
He tells us that one of his sons, 20 year-old Alex who is a percussionist and keyboard player, is actually his favorite musician. Alex is in the process of transferring colleges so he can pursue his dream of entering the music business. But what do you think a Texas born doctor would listen to while he’s actually giving our deaf children the possibility to hear music? Here’s what he told Bama Ears: “Depending on the case, I choose the music anything from mellow to rock. I love Dave Matthews, Ryan Adams, The Fray, Counting Crows, Sugarland, U2 and the old classics REM, Zeppelin, James Taylor, Jackson Brown, really too numerous to name.”
We just had to ask since he’s so musically driven, but we were disappointed to find out he does not hold any karaoke titles or line dancing championships (yet!). Though he’s not too interested in the line dancing, he does tell us that being a Texas native, he claims to have a mean two-step. If anyone has video evidence of this, Bama Ears will be glad to accept the footage!!
We also asked if he could name one Kelly Clarkson song. He could not, but he is quite familiar with Carrie Underwood’s music. Let’s not assume he’s an avid American Idol fan like many of us are, but he is a music fan. Though he’s heard the name Miley Cyrus, he could not give us her television alter ego of Hannah Montana. We did not deduct any points off for that! After all, he is a grown man and not a five year old little girl, though he does have a dancing and singing daughter Emme who is eight years old. You’ll read more about her and the rest of his family in a future post.
It’s quite apparent that his residents are benefiting from his wisdom, his music, and his humor as well. Practical jokes are quite common from this ENT. There are more stories to come about this Alabama surgeon in future articles. In our next chapter of Chronicles of an Extreme ENT, you’ll find out why we call him Extreme….
If you are an Alabama resident and have a child with hearing loss, we want to hear your story. Click on the wordGuidelinesbefore submitting your story to Bama Ears to be featured in an upcoming post. Content for each story is provided directly from the families and by submitting a story, each family gives us permission to post. Contact Bama Ears at bamaears@yahoo.com .
by: Ariana Gelsinger age 11
one of Bama Ears' own, click artwork to read her story
If he’s at the Indian Princess Campout with his daughter Emme, you might actually find just that. She painted him up just right for their campout event where he claims all of the dad’s were painted by their daughters. 
This year they went on a 100-mile mountain biking trip in Utah. But they’ve traveled to Yellowstone, Ocoee River, the Grand Canyon…if it’s adventurous, they’ve either already done it, or have it on their “to do” list. Next year, they take on Peru.
