Balancing Act: Treatment Options for Balance Disorders

Guest Bio: Jack J. Wazen, MD, FACS

Jack J. Wazen, MD, FACS, a partner in the practice, Dr. Wazen was also the Silverstein Institute’s first research fellow. He left Sarasota in 1983 to build a successful Ear, Nose & Throat specialty practice in New York and spent 23 years as a researcher, professor and practitioner with Columbia University and the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

Recognized repeatedly as one of New York’s and America’s “Best Doctors,” Dr. Wazen is one of the nation’s leading authorities on hearing and balance disorders, pioneering new research that expanded treatments for people with single-sided deafness and complex cases of hearing loss. He also is author of the seminal book, Dizzy, providing new treatment options and hope for people affected by balance and hearing disorders.

In addition to providing medical care in the office, Dr. Wazen is an experienced otological/neurotological surgeon trained to restore hearing through microsurgical procedures, such as stapedectomy to correct ear bone degeneration (otosclerosis) and other minimally invasive techniques to cure birth defects, infection or disease (such as Meniere’s). He also specializes in surgical removal of tumors (acoustic neuromas and skull based lesions), as well as insertion of implantable hearing devices and cochlear implants (electrodes placed in the inner ear to restore severly impaired hearing).

Committed to finding new and better cures for hearing and balance disorders, Dr. Wazen serves as the Director of Research for the Institute’s non-profit Ear Research Foundation. Just as past studies uncovered new options to restore hearing, Dr. Wazen believes new and better treatments are imminent for people suffering from debilitating inner ear diseases like tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and dizziness and balance disorders

His book, Dizzy, uncovers the root causes of this disabling, difficult-to­-diagnose syndrome and shares the therapies and techniques that can return patients' lives to normal. ­Recent statistics show that more than 90 million Americans will experience dizziness at some time during their lives. The good news is that 80 to 90 percent of sufferers can find relief. In this comprehensive guide, one of the nation's leading authorities on balance disorders tells the millions of sufferers what they can to do to conquer dizziness—what it is, why they feel this way, and what they can do about it.