House Ear Institute (HEI), Los Angeles, has received a $500,000 gift from Rush Limbaugh in memory of Antonio De la Cruz, MD, which will be used to help the institute continue its mission of advancing hearing science through research and education, says a statement released by HEI.
Limbaugh had known De la Cruz since 2001 when Limbaugh became his patient after experiencing sudden hearing loss, says the statement. De la Cruz, along with another House Clinic physician, diagnosed Limbaugh with auto-immune inner ear disease (AIED).
After a period of treatment with medication in an effort to save his residual hearing, Limbaugh and the House Clinic physicians decided to proceed with a cochlear implant to help restore a sense of hearing.
De la Cruz, who passed away from complications of lymphoma in July at the age of 65, spent 35 years as a physician at the House Clinic and director of education at the institute.
The statement notes that Limbaugh recently told the Los Angeles Times, “Dr De la Cruz literally saved my career and got me my life back with that surgery. I wouldn’t have been able to continue my career. For a month before I had the implant surgery, I did my show totally deaf.”
Click here for more information on cochlear implants.
[Source: HEI]
