Meet Dr. Matthew Webster

I came to audiology by way of music. I started playing saxophone in the fifth grade. Years of practice teach you to listen closely — to the way sound changes from player to player, from room to room. I can still remember how my teacher sounded. We played the same instrument, sometimes the same notes. What came out of her horn had a depth and richness that mine did not, and I wanted to understand why. Technique, it turned out, explained only part of it; the rest belonged to physics and acoustics. That question, I later learned, had a name: psychoacoustics, the science of how we perceive sound. That’s what led me to audiology.

I grew up in Central California and attended the University of the Pacific, then moved to Texas for the audiology program at UT Dallas — one of the most respected in the country. The people I trained alongside became some of my closest friends, and they made staying an easy choice. Dallas has been good to me, and I’m glad it’s where I ended up.

During my doctoral program at UT Dallas, I worked in the research lab of Dr. Edward Lobarinas, a hearing researcher I was lucky to learn from. The lab worked to uncover some of the physiologic underpinnings of hearing and hearing loss. That work shaped my mental model of audiology: how individual diagnostic findings should be weighed within the broader functional picture of hearing, and how to navigate a patient’s challenges, especially when the test results don’t lend to an obvious answer.

Hearing isn’t really about the ears. It’s the conversation at a full dinner table and the words to a song you’ve known for forty years. People come to me to get those moments back. That’s the best part of the job, and it’s a privilege to be trusted with it.

Outside of the clinic, I still play saxophone at jam sessions and bars around Dallas when I can. On weekends, my girlfriend and I are usually out trying a new sushi spot or cocktail bar somewhere in the city.

I look forward to welcoming you to the clinic and helping you find the clarity you are looking for.