Ear Center: Information For Physicians

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New Patients
Registration & Medical History Forms
General Office Information
Meet Our Physicians
Board Certification
What We Treat
Sub-Specialty Interests
Audiology Services
Nursing Staff
Hospital Committee Memberships
Research Activities
Scientific Oral Presentations
Teaching Activities
Surgeons' Temporal Bone Training Courses
Esteem Totally Implantable Hearing Device Training
Kraus K-Helix Middle Ear Prostheses Training
Patient Education Information - Medical Topics
Down Syndrome - Comprehensive ENT References
Envoy Esteem™ Clinical Trial Information
Digital Photography Using the OR Microscope

New Patients

We accept new patients for both medical and surgical consultations and are available to answer your questions at any time at (336) 273-9932. Medical records may be faxed to (336) 273-9936.

Registration & Medical History Forms

You or your staff may download copies of our Registration & Medical History Forms in PDF format and give them to your patients to complete prior to their visit with us. Click here for a Map & Directions to our office

Meet Our Physicians

 

Board Certification

Dr. Eric M. Kraus

  • Board Certified by the American Academy of Otolaryngology
  • A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons
  • A Fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery
  • A Fellow of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
  • A member of the North Carolina Medical Society
  • A member of the North Carolina Society of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery
  • A member of the Guilford County Medical Society, Guilford County, North Carolina

Dr. Su Wooi Teoh

  • Board Certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology
  • A member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery
  • A member of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
  • A member of the North Carolina Medical Society
  • A member of the North Carolina Society of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery
  • A member of the Guilford County Medical Society, Guilford County, North Carolina

 

What We Treat

Our group private practice specializes in Otology and Pediatric Otolaryngology. We treat all medical and surgical conditions
of the ear in adults and children. In addition to treating the entire range of ear conditions, we perform:

  • surgical procedures from myringotomies and transtympanic tubes to complex implantable middle ear devices
  • acoustic neuroma evaluations
  • tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies
  • plastic and reconstructive surgery of the ear
  • general ENT for adults and children (Dr. Teoh)

For a complete list of our services, visit the Our Services page

Our team of highly qualified surgeons and audiologists are dedicated to comprehensive hearing restoration through
medicine, surgery, digital hearing aids, and cutting edge hearing implant technologies.

Sub-Specialty Interests

  • Otosclerosis management including stapedectomy
  • Acute and chronic middle ear and mastoid surgery for infection, trauma, cholesteatoma, etc.
  • Ossicular reconstruction
  • Tympanoplasty
  • Cochlear implant surgery (Cochlear Americas & Advanced Bionics devices)
  • Implantable middle ear devices including the BAHA™ osseointegrated device and the investigational Esteem™ system
  • Meniere's disease evaluation and medical/surgical management
  • Acoustic neuroma evaluations
  • Vestibular evaluations
  • Evaluation and management of hearing loss due to any cause (genetic, congenital, traumatic, sudden, infectious, neoplastic, degenerative, autoimmune, metabolic, toxic, functional, etc.)
  • Evaluation and management of tinnitus

Dr. Kraus has a special interest in ossicular reconstruction, stapedectomy, high tech hearing implants, and the otolaryngologic management of Down Syndrome.

Dr. Teoh has extensive training in electrical and biomedical engineering. He has a special interest in cochlear implants and middle ear mechanics.

Audiology Services

We offer a full range of audiometric testing including:

  • basic pure tone audiometry with SRT, WRS, MCL's, and UCL's
  • aided thresholds in a large sound field
  • acoustic reflexes and decay
  • tympanometry and tympanometry-fistula testing
  • auditory brainstem response (ABR) and auditory steady state response (ASSR) testing for thresholds, conduction times, and neuropathy evaluations
  • electronystagmography
  • cochlear implant mapping and special testing such as HINT, CNC, etc.,
  • BAHA processor adjustments
  • first and second generation Esteem™ Sound Processor & Personal Programmer programming
  • digital hearing aid evaluations, testing, fitting, and programming
  • central auditory processing testing
  • miscellaneous special audiometric tests such as promontory testing, etc.

We have one full time master's level audiologist, one master's level research audiologist, one part time master's level audiologist, and one master's degree student audiologist from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Nursing Staff

Our experienced nursing staff consists of highly competent otolaryngologic R.N. and two medical assistants.

Hospital Committee Memberships

Our physicians are active members of Moses Cones Health System's hospital committees. Dr. Kraus helped to
found the Moses Cone Institutional Review Board (IRB).  He has been its Vice Chairman for the past 19 years.
Dr. Kraus sits on the new Moses Cone "Emerging Technology Committee" to help advise the hospital on evaluating
and implementing new medical/surgical technologies.

Research Activities

Esteem™ Totally Implantable Hearing Device (Envoy Medical Corporation, St. Paul, MN)

First Generation Esteem™
Dr. Kraus was one of five U.S. co-investigators involved in the Envoy Medical Corporation, investigational Esteem™ Totally Implantable Hearing Device Phase II FDA Clinical Trial that began in 2004. Dr. Kraus helped to develop many of the
operative techniques used for implanting the first generation Esteem™.

He has mentored all of the U.S. surgeon co-investigators (teams from Newport Beach, CA, Minneapolis, MN, Pittsburgh, PA, and Burlington, MA.), German surgeon investigators in Magdeburg, Koblenz, Kassel, Krefeld, and Cologne Germany, and surgeons from France, Italy, Belgium, England, Spain, Egypt, Dubai, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, South Africa, Israel, and Syria.

Second Generation Esteem™
A second generation Envoy Esteem II Clinical Trial began in February, 2008. Dr. Kraus is one of three U.S. co-investigators. Twenty-three study participants have been enrolled.

Please note: The Esteem™ Totally Implantable Middle Ear Device is an investigational device. It has not been approved by the US FDA. The Esteem™ system has been approved in Europe, July 2006, and has been granted a CE mark.

Cochlear Implants

In 1987, Dr. Kraus was one of the original 15 co-investigators for Cochlear Corporation (now Cochlear Americas) during the Pediatric Cochlear Implant FDA Clinical Trial. It was the work of these co-investigators from across the United States that eventually led to U.S. FDA approval for pediatric cochlear implants in July, 1990.

Dr. Teoh recently organized a Pediatric Cochlear Implant program in conjunction with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNC-G). Dr. Teoh and Dr. Kraus have joined the UNC-G faculty as adjunct clinical professors. Dr. Teoh is in the process of organizing the team.

Scientific Oral Presentations

Teaching Activities

Surgeons' Temporal Bone Training Courses

Esteem™ Totally Implantable Hearing Device Training
Esteem™ Surgeon Training: Dr. Kraus has been training otologic surgeons on implantable hearing device surgical techniques in the new state-of-the-art "Temporal Bone Laboratory & Learning Center" located adjacent to The Ear Center. Three day training courses were held in April, July, August, September, and November 2007. Courses have been held in February, March, April, June, July, August, September, December of 2008, and January and May 2009.

Kraus K-Helix Middle Ear Prostheses Training
Dr. Kraus has trained otologic surgeons in the use of the new Kraus K-Helix prostheses (Kraus K-Helix Crown, Kraus K-Helix Piston, Kraus Twister Crown, and Kraus Twister Shoe) for middle ear reconstruction (endoskeletal ossicular reconstruction) in formal temporal bone courses:

  1. July 25, 2008: California, Connecticut, and North Carolina
  2. January 31, 2009: France, Belgium, Germany
  3. May 26, 2009 : Italy

Down Syndrome - Comprehensive ENT References

A comprehensive list of medical books, journal articles, publications, and computer information/software to assist the medical
profession and parents in learning more about important topics related to Down Syndrome.

  • Biochemistry
  • Endocrinology-immunology
  • Facial cosmetic surgery
  • Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery issues
  • Prenatal diagnosis
  • Growth charts for boys and girls with Down Syndrome
  • Head circumference charts

Click here for:  DS Comprehensive ENT References  |   DS Guidelines for Preventive Medical-Surgical Care

Digital Photography Using the OR Microscope

Click here for complete information about Digital Photography Using the OR Microscope

If you have any questions concerning our practice, consultations, or referrals, please contact our office at (336) 273-9932.