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About us
The Ears of Texas, P.A. is the specialized medical and surgical practice of Dr. Wesley W. O. Krueger that focuses on the discipline of Neurotology. The office is specifically designed to treat all disorders related to the ear and skull base, including all forms of hearing loss, chronic ear disease, otosclerosis, balance disorders (caused by the many different inner ear problems or those problems in the central nervous system), facial nerve dysfunction, acoustic tumors, skull base tumors, and concussion injuries.
Our clinic
The Ears of Texas, P.A. is a fully staffed, highly trained and educated group of professional individuals committed to utilize our many years of expertise in providing the latest advancements in medical and surgical technology to evaluate and treat all dimensions of the ear. Our facility and staff are an important reflection of our practice and the quality of care you can expect to receive. All of the diagnostic staff have at least a Doctoral or Masters degree, and collectively possess many years of experience. The focus of this practice is you, the patient. Our goal is to treat you with the best possible care. The office is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art diagnostic and rehabilitation equipment to evaluate and treat your individual disorder as it relates to the ear. We offer comprehensive hearing testing, balance testing, and access to vestibular rehabilitation.
Since many chronic ear, Eustachian tube, or balance disorders are affected by allergies, we offer allergy testing and treatment with a licensed vocational nurse. To rehabilitate hearing loss, through physician directed licensed audiologists, we provide all the latest forms of assistive listening devices including digital hearing aids, implantable bone conduction cochlear stimulators, and cochlear implantation for those patients who cannot benefit with conventional amplification. Dr. Krueger will be able to offer the latest surgical treatments for your specific type of ear problem, when indicated.
So what makes Ears of Texas unique?
The Ears of Texas, P.A. offers same-day appointments if possible, a dedicated hearing aid center and a dedicated balance center. As patient care is our primary focus, our office visits with the physician are longer than in typical medical offices, lasting 20-45 minutes. As a specialist’s office, we believe in superior care; therefore, you will never be seen by a physician’s assistant, a nurse practitioner or a clinical technician. Your health is our top priority and we will recommend only the appropriate testing and follow-up as deemed necessary.
Our mission is to be the leading vestibular diagnostic resource, committed to providing the highest level of healthcare to our patients, utilizing the latest technological advances to effectively treat and rehabilitate patients with vestibular or balance disorders. We are committed to providing the best diagnostic, medical, and surgical care for patients with hearing or chronic ear disorders, using the most advanced technology available.
Who we treat – our patient population
The Ears of Texas, P.A., focuses our care of Neurotology in children and adults.
Our support and medical staff
At The Ears of Texas, P.A., our support staff will provide you with your appointment time, directions to the clinic, necessary forms, verify your appointment and provide check-out services. Our medical staff consists of a Master’s level audiologist who performs all diagnostic testing, cochlear implant programming and hearing aid and assistive listening device services. Our physical therapist holds a certification as a “Vestibular Rehabilitation Specialist” and is a nationally recognized lecturer as well as clinician. She has been a licensed physical therapist for 17 years and has worked exclusively with dizziness and balance disorders since 1998. She utilizes a unique and comprehensive approach to symptom management that is consistently successful in maximizing overall safety and independence by designing individualized, symptom-driven and diagnosis-specific treatment protocols. As such, she consults with patients in their home to thoroughly examine the environment and needs of the individual.
Our Insurance policy
We believe in providing excellent patient care and are committed to the integrity of the patient-doctor relationship. The Ears of Texas, P.A. accepts several major commercial insurances. Dr. Krueger is a non-participating or out-of-network provider with Medicare. As a Medicare patient, you will be asked to pay in full for your office visit at the time of checkout. We will supply you with the appropriate claim form along, with an itemized receipt to submit to your secondary insurance carrier for reimbursement. Medicare will not reimburse you for your visit to the doctor or the testing completed. The Ears of Texas, P. A. files claims for individuals with commercial insurance and those patients undergoing surgery. As a courtesy, our office will file the claim at the time of surgery, and the insurance re-imbursement will be sent to the patient directly.
What if I need surgery?
Your insurance company will be able to provide coverage for Dr. Krueger, your hospital visit and anesthesia. For those with Medicare, Dr. Krueger does provide a discount for his surgical fees. However 50% of his surgical fee is required to be paid the day before the surgery date. The remainder will be paid in full within 30 days, following surgery. Our office staff will be able to provide you with your exact costs and the discounts provided by the doctor.
Your initial visit
Regardless of the reason behind your visit – hearing difficulties, balance problems, dizziness, walking difficulties, ringing in the ear or ear pain, all of our patients receive a thorough hearing evaluation. The hearing and balance systems are connected and the testing is crucial to a comprehensive diagnosis. The initial hearing test takes approximately 25-30 minutes with the audiologist. After the testing, Dr. Krueger meets with you, performing a comprehensive medical evaluation and discussing your findings and recommendations for follow-up care. Dr. Krueger spends approximately 20-45 minutes with each patient.
Follow-up visits
Dr. Krueger will make recommendations for follow-up testing or rehabilitation based on your diagnosis. These tests/rehabilitation may take 15 minutes to 3 hours to complete. Once completed, Dr. Krueger will again sit down with you for 20-30 minutes to discuss the results and your prognosis.
Forms
To help facilitate your visit, the following forms can be downloaded from our website.
- Patient Intake Form
- HIPAA Form
- Cancellation Policy Form
- Private Contract of Services for Medicare Form