Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center

A hoarse voice or persistent sore throat that lasts for weeks may seem like a mild nuisance, but those same symptoms could be early signs of head and neck cancer. To help patients determine their risk for disease and detect problems at an early stage, the Vanderbilt Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center will offer free head and neck screenings Friday, April 7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

People who have problems with their sense of smell or taste and don’t know the cause have a new treatment option at the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center.

Patients are coming to the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center from around the globe, discovering the center’s world-class services through social media. One such person is Sophia Pafitis, who traveled to Vanderbilt last year from the Australian island of Tasmania.

Vanderbilt researchers are seeking participants for a study of how children and adults listen in the presence of background noise. Specifically, the researchers want to learn why children have a harder time listening in noisy environments than adults.

Boys and girls age 4 to 6—those who stutter and those who do not—are needed for a research study, "Emotional Processing in Children Who Do and Do Not Stutter."

Professional artists, hobbyists and art enthusiasts from around the country created sidewalk chalk art in Hillsboro Village Sept. 24-25 during the second annual Nashville Chalk Fest, which benefits the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, specifically the Preschool for Children with Autism and the Mama Lere Hearing School.

The Science of Song symposium explored the use of music and singing to help people with developmental disabilities like autism improve their social skills, and others with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) recover from the traumatic events they’ve experienced.