Vocal Cord Surgery Gives a Salesman His Voice Back
A semi-retired salesman, Gary Baum knows that his voice is part of his brand. Despite this, he struggled with hoarse, gravelly vocalization for three or four years before seeking help. “Back then I couldn’t talk like I’m talking to you…
A Happier Year for Bryonna After Turbinate Reduction Surgery
Born and raised in the California Bay Area, Bryonna Sullivan has always had allergies. In July 2024, she relocated to Houston, one of America’s most challenging cities for people with allergies due to its elevated tree and grass pollen counts….
Tympanoplasty and Ossicular Chain Reconstruction Gives a Patient His Hearing Back
As a child, Joe Strelecki suffered chronic ear infections that led to hearing loss as an adult. When he was in his 40s, an audiologist advised him that he had a ruptured right eardrum and was a candidate for tympanoplasty,…
A Young Patient Benefits from Cochlear Implantation for Sudden Sensorial Hearing Loss
At first, Kate Baumbach thought her 12-year-old daughter’s hearing loss might be caused by fluid in her left ear. “When Helena told me she couldn’t hear very well and her ear felt closed, I thought of the ear tubes she’d…
Saving Larvell Love
At first, Larvell Love attributed his hoarse voice to snoring. “After a while, I noticed he was having difficulty swallowing,” says his wife, Alice Love, a retired registered nurse. “I said, yes, Larvell, we will be going to the doctor…
Janice Bradley Regains Her Voice
After parathyroid surgery at a community hospital in October 2023, Janice Bradley discovered that her voice had changed. “I sounded like Minnie Mouse and had to repeat everything several times to be understood. It was embarrassing,” she says. “I was…
A Patient Regains Her Hearing After Stapedectomy
Kelly Baehren remembers her mother undergoing two unsuccessful surgeries for hearing loss caused by otosclerosis that damaged her stapes, a tiny stirrup-shaped bone in the middle ear. “That was in the 1970s, and when I lost my own hearing 15…
Vigilance and Multidisciplinary Surgical Expertise Give a Two-Time Cancer Survivor a Fresh Start
In 2024, while using a magnifying mirror to put on makeup, Meredith Young spotted a slightly thicker area on her neck near her right earlobe. “It was very subtle – nothing to set off alarm bells,” she says. “One of…
Barry Ballou Can Finally Breathe
Retired architectural engineer Barry Ballou has endured nearly a an inability to breathe through his nose. Diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, Ballou, who is 64, had used a CPAP machine for 18 years. In early 2024, he developed an fluid…
XHANCE Allows a Chronic Rhinosinusitis Patient to Avoid Surgery
Ken Kaltwasser was well on his way to surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis when Martin J. Citardi, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, suggested a new medical treatment – an exhalation…