Oldenburg. It's the highest distinction which can be awarded by the German society for audiology (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Audiologie, DGA): Prof. Dr. Dr. Ulrich Eysholdt, recently employed as a senior professor - equal in status to a guest professor - at the school of medicine and health science at the Oldenburg university and the hospital "Evangelisches Krankenhaus", has been elected as a honorary member of the DGA. Eysholdt, professor emeritus and former head of the department of phoniatrics and pedaudiology of the university hospital Erlangen/Nürnberg, obtained the honorary membership for his scientific lifetime achievement. This includes groundbreaking work about objective hearing diagnostics, an international leading role in the diagnostics of the vocal tract and a long standing advencement of the audiology as a professional council member of the German research foundation. The honour was bestowed to Eysholdt at this year's annual DGA meeting in Bochum.

"We are pleased and proud that we could obtain such an interdisciplinary and internationally highly valued researcher like professor Eysholdt as a senior professor and we congratulate him on the distinction bestowed by the DGA", says Prof. Dr. Gregor Theilmeier, dean of the school of medicine and health science. The medical director of the hospital, Dr. Rüdiger Schönfeld, adds: "Also for the hospital with its university clinics for ENT, neurology, neurosurgery and plastic surgery, the integration of professor Eysholdt is a big advantage. He will promote the cooperation between our house and the university. With the honorary membership, the DGA shows its appreciation towards an outstanding researcher."

Ulrich Eysholdt studied medicine and physics in Göttingen at the so-called „3. Physikalisches Institut“, an institute many of the other researchers from Oldenburg originate from. After his postdoctoral lecture qualification in otolaryngology and his training as a phoniatric/pedaudiological specialist, he was appointed as a head of the clinic in Erlangen and established an internationally highly respected interdisciplinary research group focussing on hearing and voice diagnostics.

„Professor Eysholdt has rended outstanding services to the connection between medicine, physics and engineering on a national and international level“, explains Prof. Dr. Dr. Birger Kollmeier, speaker of the Cluster or Excellence Hearing4all. Since his retirement at the end of 2014, Eysholdt has devoted his time again to research and the education of young academics – now in Oldenburg where internationally he sees the best conditions in the periphery of the cluster of excellence Hearing4all and the newly-established European Medical School. Eysholdt's tireless work for the subject and those who pursue it have been rightfully recognised by the DGA," says Kollmeier.