Dr. Vivian Kaul Joins the Otorhinolaryngology Team at UTHealth Houston
Vivian F. Kaul, MD, a fellowship-trained neurotologist, has joined the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, as an assistant professor. Dr. Kaul specializes in endoscopic ear surgery and focuses her practice on tumors that occur in the inner ear and brain interface. She also manages adult and pediatric hearing loss with cochlear implantation and bone-anchored hearing aids and treats the full range of diseases that manifest with imbalance, hearing loss, and tinnitus. These include tumors of the ear, temporal bone, and skull base, such as acoustic neuromas/vestibular schwannomas, meningiomas, and carcinomas; cholesteatoma and chronic ear disease; temporal brain hernias and cerebrospinal fluid leaks; facial nerve disorders; otosclerosis; superior semicircular canal dehiscence; and balance disorders such as Ménière’s disease.
Dr. Kaul received her medical degree at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and completed residency training in otolaryngology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She went on to complete a neurotology fellowship at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.
Her research interests include enhancing medical communication between physicians and patients in ways that optimize patients’ understanding of their clinical diagnoses and promote greater engagement in treatment. She received a $25,000 research grant from the American Neurotology Society to improve patient satisfaction and quality-of-life outcomes for cochlear implant patients through an interactive web and mobile phone-based patient education platform – a multimedia, closed-caption video with graphics to help patients understand what to expect.
“Most patients have difficulty completely understanding everything discussed in a physician encounter. Those who are hearing impaired find it even more challenging,” Dr. Kaul says. “My goal with the grant is to ensure that there are no gaps in understanding and also to empower patients and their families through a complete understanding of their hearing loss and the cochlear implant journey.”
Fluent in English and Mandarin, she is board certified in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery and a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, American Neurotology Society, Triological Society, and North American Skull Base Society. She has presented nationally and internationally on her research and has numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals.