Helen Cullington, our Specialty Editor – Audiology (implantables), pays tribute to a pioneer.
Back in 1996 – having worked as a cochlear implant audiologist for three years in the UK – I felt ready for a new challenge. I faxed(!) my CV to around 12 cochlear implant centres around the world to ask if I could go work there for a few months. Dr Balkany was the only one who replied, and he was immediately so enthusiastic. This led to me working as a visiting scholar at University of Miami Ear Institute for six months in 1998 – an experience that shaped my career direction considerably.
I was there when we implanted the 100,000th Cochlear patient in the Americas – he was my patient – here is a picture of our team at that time with Dr Balkany in the centre, of course.
Dr Balkany’s son, Jordan, kindly shared the following obituary.
Thomas J Balkany passed away on 29 July 2025, following a battle with cancer, ending one of the most influential careers in cochlear implant surgery and education. Over the course of four decades, he restored hearing to thousands of patients worldwide, while personally training over 600 surgeons across six continents, helping transform cochlear implantation from an experimental procedure to standard medical care.
Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Balkany decided at age 12 to become a physician after a positive medical experience treating his nasal obstruction. His calling to help deaf children crystallized during medical school when his wife Diane, director of a home for developmentally disabled children, introduced him to a 14-year-old resident named Deano. Deano was deaf, but this was unknown, and as such, the young man was treated as a severely developmentally disabled child. This discovery led to proper treatments, support and education, drastically changing the course of the young man’s life.
After graduating from the University of Miami School of Medicine in 1972, Balkany completed his otolaryngology residency at the University of Colorado in 1977 and completed a fellowship with Dr William House, the father of cochlear implants, at the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles.
Following fellowship, Dr Balkany established the Colorado Ear Clinic, the Colorado Otologic Research Center (CORC); and the Children’s Deafness Foundation. Dr Balkany also served as the Chairman of Pediatric Otolaryngology at Denver Children’s Hospital and the Chief of Otolaryngology at Porter/Swedish Medical Center.
In 1990, Dr Balkany was recruited to serve as the vice chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology and as the founding director of the University of Miami Ear Institute. He was also appointed as the Chief of the Division of Otology and Neurotology, Director of the Otolaryngology Residency Training Program, and a Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Pediatrics and Neurological Surgery. He spent the next 25 years building one of the world's leading cochlear implant programmes. University President Donna E Shalala noted in 2010: "We are recognising one of the University of Miami's true heroes, a man who can make miracles happen as he restores the sense of hearing to those who have never heard a sound."
A Mensa member whose intellectual rigor matched his surgical precision, Balkany's technical contributions fundamentally improved cochlear implant surgery, safety and outcomes. One of his significant innovations was the temporalis pocket technique, developed in 2009, which eliminated the need for bone drilling to secure receiver-stimulators.
Balkany held 14 US and international patents related to cochlear implant technology, including fundamental innovations in electrode array design and speech processing strategies. His surgical protocols became global standards, adopted by cochlear implant centres worldwide.
Perhaps Balkany's most significant legacy lies in education. In 1984, he developed the first multichannel cochlear implant surgeons' training course, establishing the template for specialized CI education. Throughout his career, he has personally trained more than 600 surgeons in the United States and internationally, across six continents. Balkany served as a visiting professor at over 40 universities worldwide, emphasising evidence-based practice and using a team-based approach to achieve better patient outcomes.
In 1995, Balkany established the Microsurgery Training Laboratory at the University of Miami, providing state-of-the-art facilities for hands-on learning. His innovative combination of didactic instruction with intensive laboratory experience became the gold standard for cochlear implant surgical training.
In 2012, Balkany founded the Institute for Cochlear Implant Training (ICIT) as a nonprofit foundation addressing critical gaps in cochlear implant education. ICIT developed comprehensive, specialized training courses for surgeons, experienced CI audiologists, audiologists new to CI care, AuD students and entire CI teams.
Balkany's scholarly impact includes over 250 peer-reviewed publications and numerous books, textbooks, training manuals and book chapters. His NIH-funded studies on cochlear implants in children and language development outcomes, as well as his testimony at the FDA, were instrumental in the regulatory approval of cochlear implant devices and paediatric cochlear implantation.
Balkany received unprecedented recognition for his contributions. In 2020, he became the first recipient of the Noel L Cohen Award for Significant Contributions to Otology and Neurotology from the American Neurotology Society. Other major honours included the President's Citation from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (received twice), the Presidential Citation from the American Otological Society, the Graham Frasier Award from the Royal College of Surgeons, and the Hallpike-Nylen Prize for Clinical Research from the Bárány Society in Sweden.
The scope of Balkany's direct patient impact is remarkable: over 3,000 cochlear implant surgeries performed at the University of Miami, treating patients from around the world. Notable cases included humanitarian efforts such as cochlear implantation on a deaf Iraqi child transported from a battle zone, demonstrating his commitment to serving patients regardless of circumstances.
Dr Balkany's death signifies the conclusion of an era, but his lasting contributions persist. The University of Miami Ear Institute, which he established, remains a top cochlear implant centre, and the Thomas Balkany Institute for Cochlear Implant Training offers extensive training programmes for CI professionals worldwide. His surgical techniques, multidisciplinary team approach for CI care, and educational methods continue to set standards in cochlear implant centres globally.
Outside of medicine, Tom lived life to the fullest. He was an avid skier, sailor, hiker, scuba diver and cyclist. In his later years, he turned his focus to family, writing poetry, travel and continuing education through ICIT. His legacy lives on through his family’s continued leadership and involvement in the institute, as well as their dedication to carrying forward the same mission.
