NEIL M. SPERLING, MD
Otolaryngology in NYC
Neil M. Sperling, MD is a New York City otolaryngologist and ear surgeon specializing in hearing disorders, hearing restoration, otologic surgery, and advanced hearing technologies.
Dr. Sperling’s clinical approach begins with identifying the underlying cause of a patient’s hearing problem. Depending on the diagnosis, treatment may include medical management, hearing aids and other hearing technologies, implanted hearing devices, or ear surgery.
He has focused on hearing disorders and hearing restoration since 1991 and serves as Medical Director of Hearing Healthcare and Technologies in the Department of Otolaryngology at Lenox Hill Hospital.
Medical Director of Hearing Healthcare and Technologies, Department of Otolaryngology, Lenox Hill Hospital
Dr. Sperling, Medical Director of Hearing Healthcare at Lenox Hill Hospital, is a former president of the New York Otological Society and has held teaching positions at SUNY-Downstate and Weill Cornell. He also teaches internationally at the Causse Ear Hospital in France. A graduate of New York Medical College, he completed his residency at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and a fellowship in Otologic surgery at the Minnesota Ear Clinic. Since 1991, Dr. Sperling has focused on hearing disorders and hearing restoration. He is an author and editor in medical publications and a leading Otologist in NYC, dedicated to providing expert patient care.
Dr. Neil Sperling’s Specialization
His surgical expertise includes procedures involving the middle ear, ossicles, eardrum, stapes, and implantable hearing devices.
- Ear, Nose, and Throat Problems
- Otolaryngology Surgery
- Ear Pain
- Ear Surgery
- Otitis Media
- Cochlear Implantation
- Otosclerosis
- Cholesteatoma
- Ear Drum Perforation
- Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease
- Stapedectomy
- Stapedectomy Using Laser
- Tympanoplasty
- Reconstruction of Ossicular Chain
- Hearing Loss
- Sudden Hearing Loss
- Conductive Hearing Loss
- Bone Anchored Hearing Aid Implantation
- Hearing Aid Consultation
- Balance Problem
- Dizziness
- Vertigo
- Meniere’s Disease
- Tinnitus
More About Dr. Sperling
Education and Medical Training
Dr. Sperling’s medical education and specialty training include:
Medical School
New York Medical College
Doctor of Medicine, with honors
Residency
New York Eye and Ear Infirmary
Residency in Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery
Fellowship
University of Minnesota Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic
Fellowship in Otologic Surgery
This fellowship training provided specialized education in otology and ear surgery, including the diagnosis and surgical management of disorders affecting hearing and the middle and inner ear.
Board Certification
Dr. Sperling is board certified by the:
American Board of Otolaryngology
Board certification represents specialty-specific assessment and certification within otolaryngology.
Dr. Sperling's Hospital Affiliations
Dr. Sperling’s current professional affiliations listed by his practice include:
- Lenox Hill Hospital
- Northwell Health
- Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital
- Lenox Health Greenwich Village
His role at Lenox Hill Hospital includes serving as Medical Director of Hearing Healthcare and Technologies within the Department of Otolaryngology.
Academic and Teaching Positions
Dr. Sperling has maintained an active role in medical education in addition to his clinical practice. His current professional titles listed by the practice include:
- Associate Professor of Otolaryngology, Zucker School of Medicine
- Adjunct Associate Professor of Otolaryngology, SUNY Downstate College of Medicine
- Medical Director of Hearing Healthcare and Technologies, Lenox Hill Hospital
He has also held teaching and educational roles involving otology, ear surgery, temporal bone anatomy, hearing restoration, and implantable hearing technologies.
Research, Publications and Medical Education
Dr. Sperling has contributed to medical education and literature related to otology, hearing restoration, otosclerosis, middle-ear surgery, and implantable auditory devices. His professional activities have included:
- Authoring medical publications
- Editing medical textbooks
- Lecturing to physicians and medical trainees
- Participating in international otology courses
- Speaking at professional medical conferences
- Teaching surgical and anatomical concepts to otolaryngology residents
- Participating in expert panels involving hearing-restoration procedures and technologies
His published and educational work includes contributions to the textbook Otosclerosis: Diagnosis, Evaluation, Pathology, Surgical Techniques, and Outcomes, which he co-edited with Chris de Souza and Marcos V. Goycoolea.
International Otology Education
Dr. Sperling has participated in international medical education through lectures and professional courses focused on otology and hearing restoration.
His listed activities include serving as an invited lecturer and panel leader at the International Otology Course at the Jean Causse Ear Clinic in Béziers, France, as well as participating in educational programs addressing stapes surgery, ossicular reconstruction, and implantable hearing devices.
Recent listed educational activities include a 2024 presentation on cochlear implantation versus stapedotomy in advanced otosclerosis and a 2023 faculty lecture addressing the future of implantable auditory devices.
Professional Memberships
Dr. Sperling’s listed professional memberships and affiliations include:
- American Neurotology Society
- American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
- New York Otological Society
He has also served as a former president of the New York Otological Society and has participated in academic and medical education committees.
Hearing Restoration and Ear Surgery Expertise
Dr. Sperling’s practice is particularly focused on determining whether hearing loss results from a problem that can be treated medically, with hearing technology, or surgically.
Stapedectomy and Stapedotomy
These procedures are used to treat otosclerosis, a condition that can cause fixation of the stapes and conductive hearing loss.
Depending on the patient’s anatomy and hearing profile, stapes surgery may improve the transmission of sound from the middle ear to the inner ear.
Tympanoplasty
Tympanoplasty is used to repair a perforated eardrum and, when necessary, reconstruct damaged middle-ear structures.
Dr. Sperling’s surgical expertise includes tympanoplasty and ossicular chain reconstruction for patients whose hearing loss is associated with eardrum or middle-ear damage.
Ossicular Chain Reconstruction
The ossicles—the malleus, incus, and stapes—are three small bones that transmit sound through the middle ear.
Damage or abnormal movement of these structures can cause conductive hearing loss. Ossicular reconstruction, also called ossiculoplasty, may be considered when damaged middle-ear bones need to be repaired or reconstructed.
Cochlear Implants
Cochlear implants are implantable hearing devices used for appropriately selected patients with significant sensorineural hearing loss who receive limited benefit from conventional hearing aids.
Dr. Sperling’s professional and educational work includes cochlear implantation and implantable auditory devices.
Bone-Anchored Hearing Devices
Bone-anchored hearing technology may be considered for certain types of conductive, mixed, or single-sided hearing loss.
Dr. Sperling’s listed areas of expertise include bone-anchored hearing aid implantation.
Conditions Treated by Dr. Neil Sperling
Patients may seek evaluation for a wide range of ear and hearing conditions, including:
Hearing Disorders
- Hearing loss
- Sudden hearing loss
- Conductive hearing loss
- Sensorineural hearing loss
- Mixed hearing loss
- Tinnitus
Middle-Ear Disorders
- Otosclerosis
- Otitis media
- Eardrum perforation
- Ossicular abnormalities
- Cholesteatoma
Inner-Ear and Balance Disorders
- Ménière’s disease
- Vertigo
- Dizziness
- Balance disorders
- Autoimmune inner-ear disease
Surgical Conditions
- Stapes fixation
- Perforated eardrum
- Ossicular chain damage
- Cholesteatoma
- Conditions requiring implantable hearing technology
How Dr. Sperling Approaches Hearing Loss
Hearing loss can have many different causes, so treatment should begin with an accurate diagnosis. Dr. Sperling’s approach is centered on determining where the hearing problem originates and what is causing it before selecting a treatment strategy. Depending on the diagnosis, treatment may include:
- Observation and monitoring
- Medical treatment
- Hearing aids
- Advanced hearing technologies
- Implantable hearing devices
- Hearing rehabilitation
- Ear surgery
This individualized approach is particularly important because two patients with similar levels of hearing loss may have very different underlying conditions and therefore different treatment options. The Hearing and Balance Center describes its care model as a combination of evaluation, rehabilitation, prevention, medical devices, and surgical treatment based on the individual patient’s condition.
Awards and Professional Recognition
Dr. Sperling’s current physician profile lists professional recognition including:
- New York’s Best Doctors by New York Magazine
- Castle Connolly Top Doctors in the New York Metro Area
These recognitions should be presented as third-party professional honors, rather than as evidence that one physician is objectively “the best” choice for every patient.
Dr. Sperling's Lectures and Professional Presentations
Dr. Sperling has participated in lectures, conferences, courses, and professional panels addressing topics such as:
- Cochlear implantation
- Stapedotomy and stapes surgery
- Revision stapedectomy
- Implantable auditory devices
- Ossicular reconstruction
- Middle-ear anatomy
- Temporal bone surgery
- Hearing restoration
- Otosclerosis
His listed professional activities include presentations in the United States and internationally.
What Makes an Otologist Different From a General ENT?
An otolaryngologist (ENT) treats disorders of the ear, nose, and throat.
An otologist has a particular focus on disorders of the ear, hearing, and related structures.
Patients with complex hearing loss, middle-ear disease, otosclerosis, eardrum problems, cholesteatoma, or conditions requiring ear surgery may be referred to an otologist for specialized evaluation. Dr. Sperling’s fellowship training in otologic surgery and his longstanding clinical focus on hearing disorders and hearing restoration are particularly relevant to patients seeking specialized evaluation for complex ear and hearing conditions.
Read an excerpt from Implantable Auditory Devices on Extended-Wear Hearing Technology.
NYOG proudly announces the publication of a textbook by Dr. Neil Sperling.
Otosclerosis: Diagnosis, Evaluation, Pathology, Surgical Techniques, and Outcomes
by Chris de Souza, Marcos V. Goycoolea, Neil M. Sperling
Excerpts from Dr. Conrad Fischer’s book “ Routine Miracles”
(Kaplan Publishing, 2009)
“If you want a physician of intensely high skill who can operate through a keyhole slit a few millimeters across and replace the minute ossicles of the ear with titanium parts, then you go see Dr Sperling.” p. 132
In the words of the author Dr. Conrad Fischer: “His patients call Dr. Sperling a miracle worker. I interviewed a dozen of them, and far more than one, even the calmest among them, say the same thing in the same words.” p. 132
With respect to otosclerosis surgery, one patient is quoted in the book as follows: “…in an hour, fifteen years of misery were stopped. I came off the table, and my life was restored back to me. It was instantaneous. I went into the hospital cut off and separate….I left the hospital on the same day happy. I felt like I rejoined the world, but I guess it is better to say that world rejoined me.” p.137
“… I gave away my hearing aids.” p. 137
Another patient who underwent hearing restoration surgery for congenital hearing loss surgery is quoted: “When I came off the table, I could hear everything. It is like living your whole life thinking there was only one dimension, then you find out all of a sudden there are three dimensions that everyone knew about but you did not. In an instant, my entire concept of normal changed.” p.142
Recent Awards and Accolades
Frequently Asked Questions
Dr. Neil Sperling specializes in hearing disorders, hearing restoration, otologic surgery, and advanced hearing technologies. His expertise includes treating conditions such as otosclerosis, cholesteatoma, ear drum perforation, autoimmune inner ear disease, and various types of hearing loss.
Dr. Sperling performs a range of ear surgeries including stapedectomy, stapedotomy using laser, tympanoplasty, ossicular chain reconstruction, cochlear implantation, and bone-anchored hearing aid implantation. These procedures address middle ear problems, conductive hearing loss, and implantable hearing device placement.
Dr. Sperling begins by identifying the underlying cause of a patient's hearing problem. Treatment options vary depending on diagnosis and may include medical management, hearing aids, implantable hearing devices, or ear surgery to restore hearing function.
Dr. Sperling holds academic positions as Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at Zucker School of Medicine and Adjunct Associate Professor at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. He also teaches internationally and participates in medical education related to otology and hearing restoration.
Dr. Sperling is board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology. He is affiliated with Lenox Hill Hospital, Northwell Health, Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, and Lenox Health Greenwich Village. He is also a member of the American Neurotology Society, American Academy of Otolaryngology, and former president of the New York Otological Society.
Dr. Sperling serves as the Medical Director of Hearing Healthcare and Technologies in the Department of Otolaryngology at Lenox Hill Hospital. In this role, he oversees hearing healthcare services and advanced hearing technology implementations.
Dr. Sperling works with a variety of hearing devices including conventional hearing aids, cochlear implants for severe sensorineural hearing loss, and bone-anchored hearing aids for conductive or mixed hearing loss. He also specializes in implantable auditory devices.
Dr. Sperling has lectured internationally, including at the Jean Causse Ear Clinic in France. He participates in international otology courses and expert panels, sharing knowledge on stapes surgery, ossicular reconstruction, and implantable hearing devices.
Dr. Sperling graduated with honors from New York Medical College, completed his residency in Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and completed a fellowship in Otologic Surgery at the University of Minnesota Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic.
