Neurotology Exam Moving from Oral to Written Format

The American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (ABOHNS) is changing the format of the Neurotology Certifying Exam from an oral exam to a written exam using multiple-choice questions. We anticipate the next exam will be administered in Fall 2028, with the new written format. Reasons for this change include the following:

• The new format used for the primary certification oral exam is an assessment of a candidate’s performance in practice using their own cases, which will include neurotology cases. In this context, a second oral exam using standardized, structured neurotology cases would be redundant and not be the best exam format to comprehensively assess the candidate’s breadth and depth of knowledge in the subspecialty.
• Establish consistency with other subcertification exams administered by ABOHNS.
• Establish consistency with other ABMS Member Boards subcertification exams, which all include a written exam.