The Audiology Department provides evaluation and rehabilitative services primarily for children from birth to 21 years of age, but we also work with adults upon request. To see our locations, click here.
Our extraordinary team strives to provide you and your child with the best possible care. We do our very best to empower you and your family to make informed decisions about the hearing evaluation treatment process, amplification or cochlear implant options, as well as educational or language stimulation choices.
Our services include:
Evaluation
Diagnostic hearing tests: This is an evaluation of how well your child can hear. The technique used for testing will depend on the developmental (cognitive) age of your child. Our goal is always to try to obtain ear-specific information so that we know how well your child hears in each ear. A diagnostic hearing test also includes immittance testing and/or otoacoustic emissions testing (both described below).
- To learn more about the diagnostic hearing test, click here.
- To download a release to have audiometric information released to your school, click here.
- Para descargar la forma de autorización para mandar la información a su escuela, haga click aquí.
Immittance measures such as tympanometry: This test will let us know how well the eardrum and the three bones behind the eardrum move.. It will allow us to know if the possibility of a middle ear dysfunction like fluid behind the eardrum, an ear infection, a perforation in the eardrum, or a number of other conditions exists.
- To learn more about immittance measures/tympanometry, click here.
Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) testing: This is an evaluation of the cochlea (the organ of hearing) and it will let us know if this part of the ear is functioning well.
- To learn more about OAEs, click here.
Auditory processing disorder testing: Children with auditory processing disorder (APD) have trouble processing sounds. For example, a child with APD may hear a sound but not be able to make sense of it. As conventional auditory processing protocols are highly influenced by non-auditory factors including memory, attention and language ability, our protocol involves the assessment of listening in noise, which is specifically designed to approximate real-world difficulty.
- To learn more auditory processing disorder (APD) testing, click here.
Auditory evoked potential testing (brainstem auditory evoked response and auditory steady state response testing): The Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER or ABR) as well as the Auditory Steady State Response (ASSR) tests are methods of testing the auditory system when a hearing test cannot be performed behaviorally. A child might not be able to be assessed behaviorally either because the child is too young, or the child cannot cooperate during the diagnostic hearing test. The BAER/ASSR test is done while the child/baby is asleep and relaxed.
- To learn more about the BAER and ASSR testing, click here.
- For BAER information and instructions in English, click here.
- Para más información e instrucciones para la prueba BAER, haga click aquí.
Balance Disorders: It is estimated that up to 15 percent of all children have issues with dizziness, and 50 percent of children with hearing loss have dizziness or balance issues. These symptoms can be the result of a vestibular (inner ear balance) disorder.
- To learn more about the balance disorders, click here.
Tinnitus Evaluation: Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no actual external noise is present. It is commonly described as a ringing in the ears, but it can also sound like roaring, clicking, hissing, whistling, swooshing or buzzing. It may be soft or loud, high pitched or low pitched. You might hear it in either one or both ears. Tinnitus can be both an acute (temporary) condition and/or a chronic (ongoing) problem. Tinnitus does not have a cure yet. The most effective treatment for tinnitus is to eliminate the underlying cause.
To learn more about tinnitus evaluations and treatment, click here.
Cochlear implant candidacy: Cochlear implants are an alternative for children with severe to profound hearing loss. In order to know if a child is a candidate, they must first undergo series of evaluations do determine if they are a candidate for implantation.
- To learn more about the cochlear implant candidacy process, click here.
Habilitation/Rehabilitation
While most of our habilitation/rehabilitation services are offered in person, many of our hearing aid and cochlear implant services can also be obtained remotely via TELE-AUDIOLOGY. Please be sure to ask your provider if you would like to consider obtaining your appointment remotely.
Hearing aid evaluation, fitting and management: If your child is diagnosed with a permanent hearing loss, they will most likely need a hearing aid (or hearing aids) in order to have access to all the sounds required to access spoken language. During the hearing aid evaluation, (known as a Hearing Aid Consult), we discuss the amplification options available for your child. During the fitting of the hearing aid(s) we will program the hearing aid(s) according to your child’s needs and hearing loss and will teach you (and your child) how to use and care for the hearing aid(s). At the follow up, we will test your child’s hearing with his hearing aids on (if appropriate). Hearing aids come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes and can provide information via sound through the ear (air conduction hearing aids) or via the bones of the head (bone conduction hearing aids).
- To learn more about types of hearing aid and the evaluation and fitting process, click here.
Hearing assistive technology & FM systems: Assistive technology and FM systems helps people with hearing loss to have access to sounds, especially in noisy environments.
- To learn more about assistive technology and FM systems, click here.
Cochlear implant program management: If your child receives a cochlear implant, they will be followed up by our cochlear implant audiologists.
- To learn more about the cochlear implant program, click here.