House Ear Institute

The House Ear Institute (HEI) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, based in Los Angeles, California, and dedicated to advancing hearing science through research, education, and global hearing health to improve quality of life. Established in 1946 by Howard P. House, M.D., as the Los Angeles Foundation of Otology, and later renamed for its founder, the House Ear Institute has been engaged in the scientific exploration of the auditory system from the ear canal to the cortex of the brain for over 69 years.

Since 1946, the House Ear Institute has led the way in defining the causes of hearing and balance disorders, improving medical/surgical procedures and prosthetic devices. The Institute's discoveries have helped millions of people receive successful treatments. House Ear Institute scientists have been involved in many firsts in the fields of otology, neurotology, skull base surgery, implantable auditory prostheses, and electrophysiology. They have developed techniques to improve hearing aids, diagnostic audiology, and clinical treatments for hearing loss. House Ear Institute researchers have always worked with the House Clinic physicians to integrate medicine and science through clinical and research trials that directly benefit patients.

In 1969, William F. House, M.D.—brother of Howard—implanted the first three patients with the cochlear implant at House Ear Institute.

Since then, the Institute has been regarded as the world's foremost private research institute for otology and hearing science.

House Ear Institute's historical advancements in hearing sciences include the development of the first clinically useful cochlear implant and auditory brainstem implant as well as the introduction of the first the middle cranial fossa and then the translabyrinthine approach for removal of acoustic neuromas. The translabyrinthine approach uses the operating microscope and reduced mortality rates from 40% (in California) to less than 1%. It has also developed a variety of diagnostic tests, including the Hearing In Noise Test (HINT), the first hearing test that measures an individual's functional hearing ability in everyday environments where background noise is present, the ABaer screening device for detecting hearing loss in infants, and the Stacked ABR, a highly accurate screening device to detect the presence or absence of acoustic neuromas.

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