John Joseph Shea Jr. (September 4, 1924 – February 8, 2015) was an American medical doctor, professor and surgeon.
Shea removed the stapes, covered the oval window opening with a vein graft removed from the back of the patient's hand, and inserted a prosthesis to replace the diseased stapes bone.
The patient's hearing was restored and she heard well for the rest of her life.
He pioneered numerous techniques in the treatment of hearing loss and dizziness, developed many instruments and prostheses to restore hearing, and worked to advance the knowledge and understanding of the treatment of ear disease.
Shea was married (1949) to the former Gwyn Cooke Rainer, 1930-2009 (later Mrs. Shelby Foote), with whom he had two children; then (1964) to the former Lynda Lee Mead (Miss America, 1960), the couple had three children.