50+ Lifestyles

Temporal Bone Donations Accepted!

By Dr. Molly Parker
Audiologist and Owner
Parker Audiology, P.C.

Dr. Alison Soto
Audiologist
Parker Audiology, P.C.

The temporal bone is the prominent bone above and behind your ear. Deep within the temporal bone are the entire hearing and balance organs. Ear surgeries involving the temporal bones have been performed for decades. However, little is known about the physical, structural, cellular and molecular changes for many hearing and balance-related diseases. For example, we do not have a good knowledge about structural outcomes for cochlear implantation years after implantation was performed. It is difficult to examine
diseased ears compared to normal ears unless we do it after death. The National Temporal Bone Bank was created in 1960 to investigate the ear structure to hopefully  decrease and eventually –and hopefully- cure hearing loss.

The Temporal Bone Registry

The National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) is a non-profit organization established in 1992.  Its primary goal is to research
physical abnormalities involving hearing and balance disorders and provide this information to researchers and physicians. Also, post-mortem temporal bone donations are being sought for the National Temporal Bone Banks Program, created in 1960, http://www.tbregistry.org/. As molecular death begins immediately after death, there is a 24-hour nationwide network to collect temporal bones immediately. Currently there have been only 7,000 donations.

Donating your temporal bones assists research for both healthy and diseased ears. Temporal bone donations are helpful at answering questions involving structural outcomes of surgeries such as Meniere’s disease and middle-ear reconstructive surgery. This work can identify cellular and molecular changes that occur as we age. We can investigate changes that occur with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) as well as genetic disorders. Ultimately the goal for temporal bone research is to improve outcomes for surgical procedures and improve outcomes for some types of hearing loss.

Starting the donation process is easy. You will receive a donor enrollment packet including a card that states you are a donor. You will need to tell your physician and relatives of your wishes, as the bone needs to be harvested immediately after death. There is no change in your appearance of the head, face or outer ear when the temporal bone is removed.
For more information call the Temporal Bone Registry on their 24-hour hotline number, 800-822-1327 or visit their website at www.tbregistry.org.

Dr. Molly Parker has been practicing Audiology in the Quad Cities for 17 years. She is the owner of Parker Audiology, PC. Call Dr. Alison Soto or Dr. Molly Parker today for an appointment at (563) 265-8003.