About us

Docs and PAs 2 ENT 1

Mountain Ear, Nose & Throat Associates was founded in 1985 when Benjamin Douglas, MD and Gregory W. Salyer, Au.D. relocated to the mountains of Western North Carolina. After developing a friendship while serving together in the Army, Dr. Salyer and Dr. Douglas decided to open their practices together to provide specialty services to an underserved area.

As the local population continued to grow, Dr. Douglas recruited Dr. John Buenting to join Mountain Ear, Nose & Throat in 2003. Dr. Buenting left a busy academic practice at UNC Chapel Hill for the peace and beauty of the western mountains, and soon found himself with full clinics in both our Sylva and Franklin locations. In 2009, Dr. Douglas and Dr. Buenting were pleased to welcome Dr. Shawn Kosnik to the Mountain ENT team. Also drawn by the beauty of our mountains, Dr. Kosnik relocated from his position as Head of ENT at the Naval hospital at Camp Lejune, and quickly grew his practice in the region.

Audiologists ENT 1

Following Dr. Salyer’s retirement in 2012, Salyer Hearing Center remained part of the Mountain ENT family. It continues to set the regional gold standard in high quality hearing aid fittings, sales and repair service.

Upon Dr. Douglas’ retirement in December of 2019, Mountain Ear Nose and Throat had grown into the premier ENT facility in the region with the distinction of being a Stryker Medical National Center of Excellence for In-Office Balloon Sinuplasty. Now, more than 30 years later, Mountain Ear, Nose & Throat Associates and Salyer Hearing Center have served the needs of over 50,000 patients in more than 7 counties and multiple states.

Today, with locations in Sylva, Franklin, Murphy and Candler as well as the addition of new providers and service lines, Mountain ENT is continuing to advance the level of ENT expertise in the mountains.

Mission Statement: We promise to provide unparalleled, personalized healthcare for our community by actively engaging our patients, working together with the knowledge and tools necessary to improve the overall quality of life for anyone seeking guidance and healing. We strive to offer the highest quality health care to the citizens and visitors of Western North Carolina by delivering ethical, compassionate and respectful state of the art treatment through the professionalism and commitment of our dedicated physicians and staff.