About Us

Wolfe Audiology is a division of Wolfe Eye Clinic. In medical practice since 1919, Wolfe Eye Clinic is a recognized regional diagnostic and surgical center offering a broad range of professional care services. Our services include the treatment of cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, corneal disease, pediatric eye conditions and ocuplastics to name a few. Wolfe Eye Clinic surgeons have also performed nearly 25,000 LASIK laser vision correction procedures to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, giving patients the possibility of a life free from glasses and contacts. With multiple locations throughout Iowa, including Ames, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Waterloo and West Des Moines, Wolfe Eye Clinic provides expert eye care and convenience to all Iowans.

Wolfe Clinic History and Audiology Milestones

1919 - Wolfe Clinic founded in Marshalltown, Iowa.

1959 - First board-certified ophthalmologist on staff at Wolfe Clinic.

1972 - First small-incision phacoemulsification surgery for cataracts performed in Iowa at Wolfe Clinic.

1977 - Services expanded to include medical and surgical care of the ears, nose and throat (ENT) as well as facial plastic surgery.

1978 - Laser surgery first performed.

1983 - Wolfe Clinic adds a board-certified Audiologist (Bruce Vircks, Au.D.) and initiates a hearing aid program in Marshalltown, Iowa.

1984 - Wolfe Clinic first fits in-the-canal hearing aids.

1984 - Refractive surgery first performed to reduce dependence on eyeglasses and contact lenses.

1985 - Coinvention of the continuous tear capsulotomy by Wolfe Clinic ophthalmologist John Graether, MD, that is the standard technique used throughout the world today.

1985 - Wolfe Clinic Audiology and Hearing Aid Program established in West Des Moines, Iowa.

1986 - Innovaid acoustic hearing aids fitted for the first time in Iowa.

1987 - Wolfe Clinic Audiology and Hearing Aid Program established in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

1989 - Wolfe Clinic introduced the first bone conduction implantable hearing aid surgery and fitting in Iowa.

1989 - Infrared hearing systems installed at the Marshalltown Auditorium and Martha Ellen Tye theatre in a joint project between Wolfe Clinic and the Marshalltown Lions/Lioness Club.

1991 - Wolfe Clinic introduces one-stitch or no-stitch cataract surgery in Iowa- some of the first in the world to use this technique.

1994 - Wolfe Clinic is first in Iowa to perform laser vision correction with the excimer laser.

1995 - Wolfe Clinic Audiologist Bruce Vircks, Au.D. presents on Recreational Audiology at the National Hearing Conservation Association, American Academy of Audiology and Academy of Dispensing Audiologists meetings.

1996 - First utilization of Graether (of Wolfe Eye Clinic) pupil expander by surgeons across the globe.

1996 - LASIK laser vision correction eye surgery first performed at Wolfe Eye Clinic.

2000 - Wolfe Clinic Audiology adds board certified Audiologist Jessica Williams, Au.D.

2000 - 10,000 LASIK procedures and 100,000 cataract procedures performed at Wolfe Eye Clinic.

2001 - First use of feeder vessel treatment with high-speed ICG angiography at Wolfe Eye Clinic to treat specific forms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

2003 - Wolfe Clinic Audiology introduces an all digital hearing aid product line for treating patients with severely impaired speech discrimination and the Quick Speech-In-Noise Test for enhanced diagnosis of speech discrimination in noise deficits.

2004 - Wolfe Clinic Audiology adds board certified Audiologist Catherine Dangelser, Au.D.

2004 - Wolfe Clinic Audiology and Hearing Aid Program established in Ames, Iowa.

2009 - Bruce Vircks, Au.D. is first in Iowa to be elected President-Elect of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology.