One sunny Palm Beach morning about 43 years ago, a young, beautiful and dynamic New York socialite sauntered into the Breakers Hotel and swept the American Otological Society off its feet. With the aim of securing the Society’s endorsement for her fledgling foundation, and having already secured the backing of the prestigious American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Collette Ramsey charmingly convinced the Society that a national fundraising organization to support their specialty was an excellent idea.
One of the men she met that day, Jack Van Doren Hough, M.D., became a founding member of the Centurions, a club whose original purpose was to provide operating funds for this young organization, the Deafness Research Foundation (DRF). Dr. Hough recalls: “It was suggested that if we as physicians could guarantee the operating expenses of the organization, it would have powerful PR appeal for grants and gifts by demonstrating that all overhead expenses were already paid for by the profession itself and that every dollar of contributed funds would go directly to research. This also could immediately prove that the doctors were supporting the organization and that it was legitimate. We knew of no other professional research group that could say that.”
As a young otologist in his 40s, Hough was impressed by the great leaders in otology, such as Drs. Goodhill, House, Bradley, Rosenwasser, Hoople, Shambaugh and Bellucci, who were present on that sunny day in Florida. As they further discussed the potential of the organization, enthusiasm grew. Hough recounts: “Dr. Howard House suggested we form a club in support of DRF and that each doctor-member should pledge $100 every year. Harking to the Centurions in the Roman Empire, each a commander of 100 soldiers, House proposed the name ‘Centurion Club.’ It was a great idea.”
So that they could start immediately with the group at hand, Hough ran down to the little bank about a block away and got a handful of blank checks. “In those days your account number did not need to appear on the check so we asked everyone to sign up with a $100 check, and the Centurions were born,” he recalls.
Decades later, Hough still lends his name and reputation to the Centurions and DRF. Over the years, Hough has been a member of the Centurions, a member of the DRF board of directors and he has served on the grants approval committee. His work with DRF is just a sample of the incredible accomplishments of his stellar career. Still hard at work at the Hough Ear Institute in Oklahoma City, a research facility he founded and that was named in his honor by the INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, and as clinical professor of otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, the octogenarian’s curriculum vitae is book length. In addition to academic degrees with honors, Hough’s list of credentials includes distinguished Navy service, membership in 24 professional societies, 34 professional offices held, and numerous academic appointments, including visiting professor at more than 35 universities. Hough has received his field’s highest honors and has even been inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, but his main business has been advancing the field of otolaryngology with innovative research.
One of the pioneers of microscopic ear surgery, Hough perfected several surgical techniques and instruments for hearing restoration and middle-ear reconstruction that are used widely throughout the world. His research team has joined others in the development of electromagnetic hearing devices and improved the cochlear implant by introducing rare earth magnetic implants. His discovery of the electromagnetic bone conduction device and his continued work on a new implantable ossicular prosthesis hold great potential for helping a large number of people throughout the world who are hearing impaired with sensorineural deafness, the most common type of hearing loss. And in his spare time, Hough has written more than 100 scientific articles and contributed to 34 textbooks and other medical literature.
Amazingly, hearing healthcare is not Hough’s first priority. Trumping his career are God and family. After graduating from medical school, Hough married Joan Ingle. The couple has four sons, 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Hough’s work for the church and his fellow man is as extensive as his career accomplishments. For many years, Hough was a ruling elder of the Central Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City. In 1980, he and his wife founded the Covenant Community Church in Oklahoma City. Along with Ray Knighton, former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop, Dr. Martin Andrews and six others, Hough founded the Medical Assistance Program, now known as MAP International. The organization works in 84 developing countries and in one recent year, MAP International donated pharmaceuticals and medical supplies valuing $200 million to mission hospitals. Hough has made many mission trips to serve as a short-term missionary doctor in hospitals in Africa, India and throughout Asia.
Among the frequent training courses and workshops for doctors in developing countries in which Hough has participated, one trip stands out. In 1996, Hough headed a team of eight Christian otolaryngologists on a teaching trip to Vietnam at the invitation of the Vietnamese Minister of Health. The team conducted seminars in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for more than 300 Vietnamese doctors of the same specialty. Hough’s team members were the first American medical professors allowed into Vietnam to conduct such training after the fall of Saigon in the mid-1970s.
Truly DRF is privileged to have such a great humanitarian and leader in the field of otolaryngology as a champion of our cause. Reiterating the role of DRF as he encourages others to support the organization, Hough says, “I envisioned DRF as a private fundraiser that would provide support for embryo ideas not needing giant institutional grants; for young startup researchers with good projects; for private practitioners with good ideas; for clinical research; and to prove a concept on a larger project not funded by the primary project. I can report that what I have seen and previously experienced from just being there and seeing all the good things that have been accomplished, it is worth your signing the check.” n
