Making an impact in the community and around the world
In the Community
Hearing SUPPORT
The Hearing SUPPORT program increases research capacity by providing a validated, consumer-driven laboratory test protocol that can predict real world listening function for hearing aids on the market, both prescribed and over the counter, using a proprietary test battery.
HearUP
The HearUP program supports individuals in the community who cannot financially access assistance for their hearing problems. This includes individuals with significant hearing loss who are trying to find employment and recent immigrants who are trying to navigate their way in a new country and learn the language. The communication barriers that are caused by untreated hearing loss can prevent these individuals from fully participating in and contributing to our society.
LiDIA
Dr. Catherine Palmer, Director of Audiology for UPMC and Vice Chair of the Department of Communication Science and Disorders at the University of Pittsburgh, has developed a hearing screening and assistive device named LiDIA. This device is low-cost to produce and can help improve health outcomes by screening for and treating hearing loss in healthcare settings.
Mission of Mercy
The Mission of Mercy event is a two-day free health clinic held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh that provides free dental, vision, and hearing care for patients who are uninsured, underinsured, or otherwise lacking access to quality care.
THRIVE
The Departments of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh are collaborating on a project called THRIVE: Treating HeaRing and Improving Vision: Education. Thanks to a grant from the Eden Hall Foundation, community health workers will be key to increasing access to care for vision and hearing.
Vocal Injury Prevention
The Vocal Injury Prevention (VIP) program was initiated by Dr. Chloe Santa Maria, MD, MPH, to educate and empower resident singers regarding vocal health and injury prevention, as well as to provide a targeted vocal health plan for each singer. It was developed for the resident artists of the Pittsburgh Opera to extend current support of the opera.
Vocal Outreach Program
The Vocal Outreach Program, led by Nichole Sommers, PA-C, provides education seminars to local high school and collegiate music programs, worship groups, and other professional voice users, like teachers. Each outreach includes an interactive presentation of vocal anatomy, physiology of phonation, common voice disorders, and prevention strategies to optimize vocal health. Additionally, team members introduce voice therapy techniques and host Q&A segments for personalized learning.
Voice Consortium – Hill
The laryngologists (voice-specialized Ear, Nose, and Throat physicians) and voice-specialized speech-language pathologists of the UPMC Voice, Airway, & Swallow Center have collaborated with clinicians, professors, and speech-language pathology graduate students within the Pitt Communication Science and Disorders (CSD) Department to form the Pittsburgh Voice Consortium (PVC). After great deliberation and consideration of community needs, the PVC and Hill CEC team have created a series of monthly vocal health outreach events and educational sessions.
Around the World
African Otological Society
Dr. Greg Basura launched the African Otological Society in November 2023. This is an online society aimed at building community and otology and audiology capacity in Africa. This community presents each month with a featured country and is currently crafting otology and audiology resource-centric clinical practice guidelines to optimize care in resource-constrained areas.
American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery
The Department shares a wonderful relationship with the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), where University of Pittsburgh otolaryngology faculty regularly present at the annual meeting and are involved with committee work. Dr. Basura is the Chair of the Humanitarian Efforts Committee (HEC) and engages at the national level and coordinates the subcommittees, including the scholarly output committee, the communications subcommittee, and the education subcommittee. The HEC also oversees the International Visiting Scholars program, providing residents with financial support through grants/awards to engage in a global outreach experience. All the HEC work and awards to the IVS and Humanitarian Awards are showcased at the annual Humanitarian Efforts Forum at the AAO.
International Visiting Scholars Program
On a university level, Dr. Basura has assumed leadership of the storied International Visiting Scholars (IVS) Program within the Department. This program, started by Dr. Eugene Myers in 1991, was established to provide surgical observerships for international providers from across the globe to spend dedicated time in the various subspecialties of otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh. During a 1–3 month rotation, they could observe clinic, operating room cases, and engage in research programs. Over the years, the IVS program has hosted hundreds of international visitors, and in 2024, hosted 8 scholars with 10 scheduled for 2025.
Gorongosa, Mozambique
The Department has partnered with healthcare leaders in the Gorongosa region of Mozambique to bring attention to otitis media and how to treat it. A small delegation from the Department and the Eye & Ear Foundation traveled to Gorongosa, visiting clinics and talking to health care workers throughout the region to understand the unmet medical needs of the community and how the Department may be able to collaborate to address these needs.
Kyiv, Ukraine
Initiated by Dr. Eugene Myers and led by Dr. Ryan Soose, the Department has developed a working relationship with our colleagues in Kyiv, Ukraine to provide ongoing virtual otolaryngology lectures, questions, clinical advice, and ongoing discussion. This allows them to keep up with their CMEs. This same platform is being established in Bulgaria.
Lima, Peru
The Department and the Eye & Ear Foundation are collaborating with Brother’s Brother Foundation to positively impact the otolaryngology-head and neck surgery landscape in Peru by providing equipment, expertise, and educational programs. The Department’s goal for the new initiative is to create a pathway to collaborate on research and training between Pittsburgh and Peru.
University of Cape Town, South Africa
University of Pittsburgh residents have the opportunity to travel to engage in a month-long medical, surgical, and educational service opportunity at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Those rotations, formerly overseen by chairman Dr. Joahn Fagan (University of Pittsburgh head and neck and otology fellow, 1995-1997), now overseen by Dr. Shazia Peer (pediatric otolaryngology), provide residents an opportunity to immerse themselves in the international community to obtain a broader medical, surgical, and educational experience. The resident rotations will be expanded to newly forming and developing relations in Mozambique and Peru.
Dr. Basura provides weekly lectures to the first established otology surgical fellowship at the University of Cape Town and travels there twice per year to work on temporal bone surgical dissection with the fellow.
203 Lothrop Street
Suite 251 EEI
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-864-1300
contact@eyeandear.org
