The John Carey Lab studies inner ear balance function in Menière’s disease and steroid treatment of sudden hearing loss. Other research of interest includes the normal vestibular reflexes and how they change with age, the ototoxic effects of gentamicin, the use of intratympanic steroids for Menière’s disease, the diagnostic utility of vestibular evoked myogenic potential testing, and the mechanisms of vestibular migraine.

John Carey’s Research Group conducts research regarding diseases of the inner ear that affect both balance and hearing mechanisms. Key interests include superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS), the normal vestibular reflexes and how they change with age, novel intratympanic treatments (i.e., middle ear injections) for conditions like Menière’s disease and sudden hearing loss, and the mechanisms of vestibular migraine. With Lloyd Minor, Dr. Carey helped develop the operation to repair the superior canal in patients with SCDS using image-guided surgery. Dr. Carey has been funded by the National Institutes of Health – National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to study inner ear balance function in Menière’s disease and steroid treatment of sudden hearing loss.