Abdulmonem AL Shaikh

ENT Consultant-senior Otologist and Cochlear Implant surgeon, Head of ENT Department | Saudi Arabia

SGHJ

Dr. Abdulmonem H. Al Shaikh has served as the former president of the Saudi ORL Society, demonstrating his leadership and expertise in the field. Additionally, he has held positions of significant responsibility, including former Chairman of the Saudi ORL Board program and former Chairman of the ENT Department and Cochlear implant program at KFHJ.

Jamal Kassouma

Director of Cochlear Implant Unit, | United Arab Emirates

Dubai Health

Dr. Jamal Kassouma, serves as a distinguished Consultant ENT surgeon and stands as the Director of the Cochlear Implant Unit at Dubai H, UAE. He holds the position of Head of Department at Al Zahra Private Hospital and carries the esteemed roles of Associate Professor at both Damascus University in Syria and Dubai Medical College. A trailblazer, he introduced cochlear implant surgery in Syria back in 2002 and has since conducted approximately 1865 cochlear implantations in Syria and the UAE combined. Dr. Kassouma is recognized as a pioneering traveling cochlear implant surgeon across various countries. His accolades include being named the Middle East Doctor of the Year in 2009 and 2022 for his profound impact on the Deaf Community, as well as receiving the Ibn El Balad Award from Syria in 2005 and the Distinguished Employee award from Dubai Health Authority in 2017, presented by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid AL Maktoum.

Noweed Ahmad

Consultant Neurotologist, Auditory Implant & Skullbase Surgeon. Cochlear Implant Director | United Arab Emirates

STMC & Tawam University Hospitals, Al Ain, UAE.

Dr Ahmad is Cochlear Implant Programme Director and Consultant Surgeon in otology, neurotology and skullbase surgery in STMC/Tawam Hospitals, Al Ain and James Cook University Hospital, UK. With over 2 decades of UK training and working experience, including fellowships in the USA, Canada and Australia, he has a rare dual qualification (Masters with Distinction) in Audiology from UCL. He is Council Member of the British Skull Base Society, regularly lecturing internationally on skull base, CI and otology, as well as writing chapters for textbooks. He has performed hundreds of auditory implants. In 2022 he broke the world record for a CI procedure in a 103-year old and the first-ever subtotal petrousectomy under LA. He is Founding-Director of the world’s largest charity CI programme and Chairman of the GCC Expert Panel on Adult Cochlear Implantation. He is one of the top medicolegal ENT experts recognised by the Courts in the UK.

Ibrahim Shami

Consultant, Otology/ Neurotology and Lateral skull base microsurgery | Saudi Arabia

Leader of cochlear implant program, King Fahad Medical City

Dr. Mohammed Shami is a Consultant in Otology, Neurotology and Lateral Skull Base Microsurgery at King Fahad Medical City, Saudi Arabia, where he also leads the Cochlear Implant Program. He holds the Saudi and KSU Boards in Otolaryngology and completed fellowships in Otology & Neurotology and Lateral Skull Base Microsurgery in Saudi Arabia and Italy. With extensive experience in managing complex ear and lateral skull base disorders, he is a respected specialist in his field.

Georg Sprinzl

Head of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery | Austria

Universityhospital St. Poelten

Dr.med. Georg M. Sprinzl is Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and leads the implant team of Department in St. Poelten. He is the head of the Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery in St. Poelten, Lower Austria. He focuses on stapes surgery, surgery of active middle ear implants and cochlear implantation as well as on neurootologic and oncologic skull base surgery. Moreover Prof. Sprinzl is licensed to practise medicine in the United Arab Emirates since 2013 and in the People’s Republic of China. Since 2016 he is guest professor at the Semmelweis University in Budapest and Szeged, Hungary. He developed in St. Poelten an ongoing educational program for surgeons with interest in Cochlea implantation and Vibrant Sound Bridge Surgery. Sprinzl is PI of several clinical trials in the field hearing implants. He pays special interest to sound localization and speech perception in bilateral users of Vibrant Sound Bridge. Additionally, he has established a novel animal cochlea implant model in sheep. His main research interests are on the development of new atraumatic cochlea implant electrodes for the restoration of residual hearing and the development of new bone anchored hearing aids. In the last years he focuses on clinical applied translational research in otology and hearing implant surgery. Prof. Sprinzl has published over 135 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He regularly publishes articles in various areas of otolaryngology and head and neck oncology. Due to the development of the educational program in Otology in St. Poelten, where surgical training programs are conducted every 6 months, he is also heavily involved in clinical teaching in many developing countries. He was host of the 14th ENT Danube Symposium, an international meeting which was held in June 2018 in Krems, Lower Austria, with more than 300 participants from 27 countries. Also he organised the Austian ORL Meeting 2024 with more than 950 participants, the 17th European Federation of Audiology Societies in May 2025 with over 350 participants and the 9th International Conference of osseointegrated Implants in September 2025 with more than 700 participants.

Baher Ashour

Consultant Otolaryngologist | United Arab Emirates

Tarabichi Healthcare, King’s College Hospital, Emirates Hospital and Gargash Hospital, Dubai

Dr. Baher Ashour is an internationally recognized consultant otolaryngologist, educator, and healthcare leader. He currently practices at the Tarabichi Stammberger Ear and Sinus Institute, Emirates Hospital Jumeirah, and King's College Hospital London, Dubai. His work focuses on endoscopic ear surgery, Eustachian tube dysfunction, and hearing and balance disorders. He has regularly presented in international conferences and demonstrated in otologic surgery workshops in the UAE, Germany and Egypt. Leadership • Former Head of Otolaryngology and Surgical Services at Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Hospital (Formerly Zayed Military Hospital). 2018 - 2025 • Former Chair of Otolaryngology at Ambulatory Healthcare Services (SEHA) Abu Dhabi. 2014 - 2018 International Recognition • Executive President of the International Working Group on Eustachian Tube • Member of the International Working Group for Endoscopic Ear Surgery. • Member of The Middle East Academy of Otorhinolaryngology Academic Excellence • Fellow of the European Board of Otolaryngology since 2009 • Assistant Professor at Cairo University Medical School • Chevening Scholar with double Master’s Degree in ENT and Audiology from University College London.

Robert Vincent

Otologist Surgeon | France

Causse Ear Clinic, Colombiers (Béziers)

Otologist surgeon with special interest on stapes surgery and ossicular reconstruction of the middle ear. He has performed more than 7500 operations for otosclerosis, more than 4000 operations for ossicular reconstruction and more than 260 operations for congenital malformation of the ossicular chain. Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeon of Edinburgh (UK) and Honorary Member of the Indian Society of Otology. Member of several ENT societies such as the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), the European Academy of Otology & Neuro-Otology (EAONO), the Otosclerosis Study Group, the Prosper Meniere Society, the Mediterraneen Society of Otology and the Politzer Society. Founder and General of the Live International Otolaryngology Network (LION: www.lion-web.org) which is promoting free HD videoconferencing advanced e-learning program on middle ear surgery. Live surgery is broadcasted every year from several well known Institutions worldwide including the Causse Ear Clinic. He was Instructor at the AAO-HNS for many years. On October 4, 2009 he has been awarded by the Board of Directors of the AAO-HNS a certificate of honor for exceptional services in the scientific program continuing education courses and instructional courses of this Society. He is on the editorial board of several scientific journals such as the Otology & Neurotology Journal, the Journal of the Mediterraneen Society of Otology, and also serves as a reviewer for a number of professional publications. Since 21 years he runs a annual advanced otology course in June at the Causse Ear Clinic where delegates from all parts of the world are participating every year. He is a yearly invited guest speaker and guest surgeon in many countries worldwide and has designed several middle ear prostheses and published new techniques in ossicular reconstruction. He has published many publications on middle ear surgery in several scientific journals and wrote chapters in several books on surgical technique in Otology.

Harvey Dillon

Professor in Audiology, Macquarie University Auditory Processing & Hearing Science Former Head of Research, National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL), | Australia

Macquarie University

Professor Harvey Dillon is one of Australia’s most distinguished figures in audiology and hearing science, with an internationally recognised career spanning research, clinical innovation and education. He is a Professor at Macquarie University and has made major contributions to hearing aid technology, auditory processing and hearing assessment. He is the author of the renowned textbook Hearing Aids and has published extensively in the field. A recipient of numerous international honours, Professor Dillon continues to influence the advancement of hearing science and audiological practice worldwide

Kamran Barin

Audiologist, PhD, Assistant Professor Emeritus | USA

The Ohio State University

He is Assistant Professor Emeritus, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and Department of Speech & Hearing Science, The Ohio State University. He established and served as the Director of Balance Disorders Clinic at the Ohio State University Medical Center for over 25 years until his retirement in June 2011. He received his Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Electrical/Biomedical Engineering from the Ohio State University. He has published over 80 articles and book chapters and has taught national and international courses and seminars in different areas of vestibular assessment and rehabilitation.

Hashir Aazh

Audiologist, PhD, Tinnitus, Hyperacusis, and Misophonia Specialist | United Kingdom

Hashir International Institute

Dr. Hashir Aazh, PhD, is an internationally recognised academic clinician specialising in tinnitus, hyperacusis, misophonia and sound sensitivity. He is Director of Hashir International Institute and has trained more than 1,000 healthcare professionals worldwide. With over 70 peer-reviewed publications, his work has made significant contributions to evidence-based assessment and cognitive behavioural therapy for tinnitus and sound intolerance. He currently leads several international initiatives in research, education and professional development in audiology and hearing healthcare.