About
About Dr. Courtney Voelker
Dr. Courtney Voelker, MD, PhD (DPhil Oxon) is a board-certified neurotologist and cochlear implant surgeon in Los Angeles, providing advanced implant surgery and hearing restoration for adults and children. She directs PNI’s Adult & Pediatric Cochlear Implant and the Otology/Neurotology-Lateral Skull Base Surgery Programs.
Courtney Voelker, MD, PhD (DPhil Oxon), is a Rhodes Scholar and board certified neurotologist. As a cochlear implant surgeon, Dr. Voelker offers comprehensive implant evaluation, cochlear implant surgery, and postoperative programming in collaboration with PNI’s implant audiologists. She is an otolaryngology – head & neck surgeon who takes care of adult and pediatric patients seeing a wide range of inner ear and skull base conditions. Dr. Voelker developed PNI’s enhanced treatment protocol for the treatment of acoustic neuromas. For qualified patients who suffer hearing loss before or after surgery, a cochlear implant may be placed in the affected ear to restore hearing at the time of tumor removal—a unique feature offered at few institutions. Dr. Voelker is a member of the Acoustic Neuroma Association Medical Advisory Board. A Super Doctor Rising Star award recipient, she is committed to offering top quality, compassionate care to all her patients.
Prior to joining PNI, Dr. Voelker was at USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of USC as Division Chief of Otology, Neurotology and Lateral Skull Base Surgery, and the Director of the Pediatric Cochlear Implant program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). She has conducted leading-edge research on the physiology and diseases of the inner ear at Brown University, the University of Oxford, Washington University in St. Louis, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Dr. Voelker has authored numerous research publications and textbook chapters in her field. She is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and the American Neurotologic Society. She is member of the Acoustic Neuroma Association Medical Advisory Board.
Dr. Voelker graduated with Honors from Brown University and earned her medical degree from The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. As a Rhodes Scholar she earned her PhD from the University of Oxford in developmental neurobiology. She completed her residency in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the Washington University (Barnes-Jewish Hospital) in St. Louis and her fellowship at the world-renowned House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles.
Throughout her career, Dr. Voelker has made it part of her practice to do mission-based humanitarian work in developing countries. In partnership with Global ENT Outreach, she has treated underserved populations where ear disease can go unchecked for years. In addition, she has conducted numerous temporal bone courses to train doctors in emerging economies where specialty physician resources and training are sparse.
Conditions & Treatments (Cochlear Implants, Ear & Skull Base)
- Chronic ear disease
- Choleseatoma
- Otosclerosis
- Hearing Loss / Tinnitus
- Cochlear implants (adult and pediatric)
- Cochlear implant surgery (including single-sided deafness)
- Implant surgery for complex inner ear and skull base conditions
- Skull base tumors including:
- Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2)
- Vestibular disorders
- Meniere’s disease
- Superior canal dehiscence
- Cochlear implant surgery: individualized candidacy review, surgical planning, activation, and ongoing mapping
- Multidisciplinary cochlear implant team: surgeon + implant audiologist + rehabilitation specialists
- Experience with revision ear surgery and tumors (e.g., acoustic neuroma) requiring coordinated hearing restoration
Research Interests
Dr. Voelker’s research interests include studying inner ear structure and function, and how that knowledge translates into treatments for patients with hearing and balance problems.
