Whether hearing is just beginning to decline or has been lost completely: for international patients, we can almost always provide effective help. This is based on many years of experience and state-of-the-art diagnosis and therapy – for care of the highest standard.
From my time as Chairman of a university ENT hospital, I know how individual every hearing situation is. That is why I make time for you – your quality of life is at the heart of what we do.
Yours, Prof. Dr. med. H.P. ZennerPrivate Hearing Centre Tübingen/Stuttgart
Hearing loss
Experience across the full range of modern therapies
We specialise in hearing loss and deafness and are familiar with all treatment options – for children as well as adults. Many colleagues regard us as one of the leading centres internationally in this field.
Our experience covers drug therapies including targeted injections into the ear, microsurgical procedures, fitting of modern hearing aids and advanced hearing implants, as well as individually tailored special solutions.
We also advise on social-medicine issues, for example reduced earning capacity in adults due to hearing loss. We offer personalised diagnostics for infants and have expertise in early intervention and education for children with hearing impairment, as well as in social paediatrics for children with multiple disabilities.
Causes
Hearing loss is widespread
Treating hearing loss is a focus of our private consultations. Around one in five adults in Germany has impaired hearing; among men over 65 it is as many as one in two. The cause almost always lies in the middle or inner ear.
The middle ear comprises the eardrum and the three ossicles – malleus, incus and stapes. The inner ear contains the cochlea with its delicate sensory hair cells.
Sensorineural hearing loss
Most commonly, hearing loss originates in the inner ear – this includes sudden hearing loss. Depending on the cause, various treatments may be considered, for example medication, hearing aids or hearing implants. We were involved, in some cases decisively, in the development of modern hearing implants.
Everyday noise – an underestimated risk
Sound levels above about 85 dB can damage hearing. This threshold is reached or exceeded in everyday life more often than many people think:
Noise at work
In many occupations, hearing is exposed to heavy strain:
Persistent noise without adequate hearing protection is one of the most common causes of occupational hearing damage. Open-plan offices are therefore increasingly equipped with special acoustic systems and sound masking. Teachers, too, are heavily burdened by high noise levels in the classroom.
Tumour of the auditory nerve
Less commonly, hearing loss is caused by a benign tumour of the auditory nerve, the vestibular schwannoma (acoustic neuroma). In this case, too, we provide thorough, personal advice.
Disorders of the middle ear
Damage to the eardrum or the ossicles is also a frequent cause of hearing loss. In many cases, microsurgery can improve or fully restore hearing: under the operating microscope, inflammation or small tumours are removed and destroyed structures of the ear are reconstructed.
For such procedures, we developed special TTP titanium prostheses – artificial ossicles that are now standard in Europe and the USA.