Mission and Purpose

The German Society for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery was called the German Society of Otorhinolaryngologists until 1968. The renaming was decided at the ordinary general meeting on May 28, 1968 in Bad Reichenhall.

The society was newly founded on June 2, 1949 as the legal successor to the Society of German Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeons. The Gesellschaft Deutscher Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenärzte was founded in 1921 by merging the Deutsche Otologische Gesellschaft (founded in 1892) with the Verein Deutscher Laryngologen (founded in 1894). Details of the founding meeting in 1949, which was also the 20th annual meeting chaired by Prof. von Eicken in Karlsruhe, can be found in the congress report 1949 Arch. Ear- etc. Heil. u. Z. Hals- etc. Heilk. 156, 177. The society currently has over 5,000 members.

The German Society for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery aims to promote scientific and practical otorhinolaryngology, head and neck surgery and to promote general knowledge of its historical development.

Further tasks are the preservation of the unity of the field of otorhinolaryngology and the deepening of the connection with the neighboring medical disciplines as well as with foreign professional societies, the further education and training in the field, as well as the support and advice of other scientific societies, health authorities and other institutions in matters of otorhinolaryngology, head and neck surgery.