American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
nonprofit organization in Alexandria, United States
The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) is one of the world's largest professional associations for medical specialists, with nearly 12,000 specialists in the area of otolaryngology (otorhinolaryngology) - caring for the ears, nose, and throat and surgery of the head and neck. The medical disorders treated by these physicians are among the most common that afflict all Americans, young and old. They include chronic ear infection, sinusitis, snoring and sleep apnea, hearing loss, allergies and hay fever, swallowing disorders, nosebleeds, hoarseness, dizziness, and head and neck cancer.
Membership
The Academy represents the interests of more than 12,000 ENT physicians worldwide and their patients. Membership categories range from board certified Physicians to Residents.
History
The organization began in 1896 as the Western Ophthalmological, Otological, Laryngological and Rhinological Association ("Western" referred to the Western United States). In 1898, the association became known as the Western Ophthalmologic and Oto-Laryngologic Association. In 1903, it was renamed again to reflect its nationwide membership as the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Oto-Laryngology (AAOO).
By 1962, there was recognition that the specialties of ophthalmology and otolaryngology were diverging enough to warrant separate professional associations. By the early 1970s, some separation of offices and functions was in place.
“American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery” enters the record as nonprofit organization in Alexandria, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what American, Academy and Otolaryngology can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4742901. VIAF identifies the subject as 154556647. The Library of Congress control number is n82112233. Authority coordinates are 38.806, -77.059. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1896, 1898, 1903 and 1962.
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This entry incorporates text from “American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.