otoneurology vs. Neurotology

[Medicalmelon]

Hi everyone, Im a medical student who really is committed to neuro but wants to do Neurotology/otoneurology afterwards. I wanted to get some insight about how difficult it is to get into a otoneurology fellowship coming from a neurology residency. Looking online, it seems that only 4 or so programs offer a otoneurology fellowship coming from a neuro residency and that most other programs only offer Neurotology fellowships (15+) if you do ENT beforehand which is kinda worrisome. The programs that I have found so far that offer otoneurology are Northwestern, Barrow, UMichigan, and UCLA .

I think that I would rather do a neuro residency because I'm not really a fan of surgery and not really interested in other aspects of ent except ears. However, should I consider going into ENT because there are more chances to get into the field at all? I know that neurology residents who do otoneurology don't do surgery and that ENT ones do, but it seems pretty similar otherwise. It seems that both are very focused on academics and research which are big things for me.

Personally, I know I want to do Neurotology/otoneurology because I currently do research in the field (have multiple research projects), majored in neuroscience, and have shadowed all of the other neuro specialities but I found this to be the most interesting one. Additionally, I also have neuro-oto issues myself so I'm pretty familiar with the field and the sort of testing they do and my doctor is a neurologist who did nonsurgical otoneurology.

Thanks for the help!

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[Telamir]

Yikes.

As far as I know that field is very VERY niche, and not many people specialize in it. In your case it might be more of a "who you know" type deal. I'm sure your mentor has some connections in the field that you could use to get your foot in the door. When applying to neurology look for places that have neuro-otologists on staff and do some research in the field.

In this regard it seems pretty similar to neuro-ophthalmology and neuro-oncology.

 

[Thama]

Neurotology is primarily an ENT field. If that's all you want to do then go into ENT.

 

[DocMom1]

You will be somewhat handicapped as a neurologist in Neurotology unless you want to focus solely on dizziness/vestibular testing. ENT training will enable you to have a broader Neurotological skillset.