by Amy Reisner
Music to their ears
Southlake Otologistbramplifies lives and a love for music
Making his way from room tobrroom to see his patients, Dr. Bob takes extra time to ensure each patient getsbrspecial attention. He checks hearing aids, cochlear implants, the condition ofbrpost-surgical middle ear reconstruction and a variety of other complex earbrproblems. You won't just see older adults suffering from hearing loss; you'llbralso see 10-year-old Adam toting his large musical instrument cases. Otologistbrand neurotologist Robert (Dr. Bob) Owens, M.D., gave Adam, now a buddingbrmusician, a cochlear implant at age 3 and a half.
After his residency trainingbrat West Virginia University Hospitals, Dr. Bob went on to complete a competitive,brtwo-year fellowship in the management of pediatric and adult hearing disorders atbrthe House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles. He then entered into practice with hisbrfather at Owens Ear Center. Dr. Bob is not only a Southlake resident, but performsbrmany of his pediatric surgeries at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital inbrSouthlake.brHe work with both adults and childrenbrwith complex ear problems, and has treated thousands of patients from all overbrthe state, performing more than 700 ear surgeries each year.
Atbrthe time Adam's parents discovered his hearing loss, Adam was still too youngbrto communicate the severity of his condition, thought it was clear that it wasbrrapidly getting worse. Hearing aids only frustrated Adam, and eventually, atbrage 3, he was given a cochlear implant by Dr. Bob. “When Adam needed surgery,brwe knew we were in the most capable hands in town,” says Adam's father DonbrChamblee. Now age 10, Adam is not only speaking normally, but also listening tobrmusic, singing, and playing viola and saxophone—all rare achievements for abrcochlear implant patient.
The work Dr. Bob does withbrcochlear implants, specifically, is life changing, especially for the pediatricbrpatients. “The first thing we noticed at age 2 was that she wasn't developingbrspeech,” says Erin Ross, mother of now 3-year-old Ashling. “She went throughbrspeech therapy and was fitted with hearing aids. However, on one of her visitsbrto check on the hearing aids, we found that her hearing loss was progressing.brIt was at that time that I talked with Dr. Bob about the next step—cochlearbrimplants.”
Three-year-old Ashlingbrreceived cochlear implants in her left and right ears in 2014, and is nowbrdeveloping her speech and talking. “I am very thankful for Dr. Bob,” Erin says.br“He has helped a lot of people, but I feel the work he does with cochlearbrimplants is the best. He has given me my little girl's voice.”
As a surgeon, Dr. Bob explains,bryou always want to do everything you can, no matter what age you are workingbrwith. However, with a child, there are other factors that come into play. “Ifbryou can fix the problem right the first time, then maybe the child won't have abrlifetime of problems with their ear condition,” Dr. Owens says. “If we can getbrto them first and have a very good outcome, then maybe that kid will never havebrto have surgery the rest of their life.”
The children Dr. Bob hasbrhelped have their whole lives ahead of them, and thanks to him they have abrchance to pursue their dreams. Fifteen-year-old Madi Davis, who has been abrpatient of Dr. Bob for 10 years, knows a thing or two about pursuing life-longbrdreams.
Sitting in front of thebrtelevision watching a talent reality show at age 6, Madi Davis made thebrdecision right then to pursue a musical career. However, Madi suffered severebrhearing loss. With a history of ear complications from birth, Madi's symptomsbrhad only worsened. When she saw Dr. Bob, at age 5, Madi had almost completebrhearing loss in both ears. After a handful of successful surgeries to removebrtissue growth and repair the middle ears, Madi remembers that things finallybrstarted to turn around. “I thought I was just a bad student,” Madi recalls.br“But it turns out, because I couldn't hear the teachers, I struggled. Once mybrhearing improved, I excelled in school.”
And Madi didn't just makingbrstrides as a student. The musical ambitions she had at such an early age camebrto fruition. Over the years, choir led to piano, and piano led to guitar, andbrsoon she was writing her own music. Recently, at age 15, Madi auditioned for The Voice, and she’ll be traveling tobrSan Francisco in the coming months for her second call back. Madi is quick tobrattribute her successes, in part, to Dr. Bob. “I don’t think I could do any ofbrthe things I am doing now without him,” Madi says. “Simply put, I couldn’tbrwrite music if I couldn’t hear, and I wouldn’t be where I am today experiencingbrwhat I am if it weren’t for Dr. Bob.”
Madi is a good example of abryoung patient Dr. Bob was able to help early on, who now just sees him forbrregular check-ups. “We like to see kids first, because we hope that what we dobrsets them up so that they really don't need us the rest of their life.brSometimes, when seeing adult patients, I say to myself, ‘I wish this personbrwould have come to me when they were 7 instead of 35. If I would've been ablebrto see them as a patient earlier, maybe they wouldn't have had this for thebrpast 28 years.'”
A now vibrant 3-year-old, Ashling Ross began having problems with herbrspeech at age 2. Ashling's mom, Erin, is an employee of Dr. Owens andbrrecognized right away there could be a hearing problem. After cochlear implantsbrin 2014, Ashling's speech is improving.
After unsuccessful attempts with a hearing aid, Adam Chamblee was given abrcochlear implant at age 3. Now, at 10 years old, Adam is excelling musically.brHe listens tobrmusic, sings, plays viola and saxophone,” said Adam's dad, Don. “All which arebrrare abilities for a cochlear implant patient.”
“There is a great deal of satisfaction when you see a child who was not able to lead a normal life because of their hearing or ear condition, and we are able to improve that or eliminate a problem that was holding a child back.” -Dr. Robert Owens
Auditioning for a reality TV music competition show has been Madi Davis'brdream for the past 10 years, and she wasn't going to let ear infections,brhearing loss and middle ear reconstruction surgery hold her back. Now 15 yearsbrold, Madi is writing her own music, playing guitar, singing and, that's right,brauditioning The Voice.