Richard T. Myamoto, M.D.
Arilla Spence DeVault Professor Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Indiana University School of Medicine

Wednesday, November 5, 2003Masur AuditoriumWarren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center3-4 pm

For information and accommodations, contact Hilda Madine, 301-595-5595.

A pioneer in the field of cochlear implantation, Dr. Richard T. Miyamoto will speak at the sixth Astute Clinician Lecture on Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. in Masur Auditorium. “Cochlear Implants: Past, Present and Future,” is the title of Miyamoto’s remarks. The Astute Clinician Lecture was established through a gift from Haruko and Robert W. Miller, M.D. It honors a U.S. scientist who has observed an unusual clinical occurrence, and by investigating it, has opened an important new avenue of research.

The lecture is an NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series event hosted by the Clinical Center.

About the Speaker
Miyamoto received a BS degree from Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, an MD from the University of Michigan, and an MS in Otology from the University of Southern California. He was awarded a Doctor of Engineering degree from the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology. He completed his residency at Indiana University and a fellowship in Otology and Neurotology at the House Ear Institute.

He has served as president of the American Neurotology Society, president of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, President of the William F. House Society and vice-president of the Triological Society. He is a member of the board of Scientific Trustees of the Deafness Research Foundation and is a member of the medical advisory board of the National Organization for Hearing Research. He serves on the Indiana Speech and Hearing Licensing Board, the Executive Committee of the American Auditory Society, and is a director of the American Board of Otolaryngology. Miyamoto chairs the research liaison subcommittee of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He is associate editor for Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and JARO.

About the Lecture
Cochlear implants allow many deaf individuals to hear—often for the first time. Miyamoto has been implanting these life-changing devices in the ears of adults and children for many years. His research has focused on the early identification and intervention of hearing loss. This has lead to lowering the appropriate age limit for identification of hearing loss to as early as three months, and the appropriate intervention to as early as six months. When conventional hearing aids don’t work, cochlear implants are an option.

Done correctly, Miyamoto determined, the risk of implantation at such an early age is no greater than for older children. And it is anatomically feasible because the cochlea is the same configuration at birth as it is in adulthood. His research has determined that early intervention with cochlear implants results in improved speech and language skills.