Pediatric Audiology

Our pediatric audiologists are experienced in an array of diagnostics for infants, children, teens, and individuals with neurological and/or developmental complications who are considered difficult to test, including:

• Behavioral audiometry, both in sound field and using insert or traditional earphones. This option includes visual reinforcement audiometry and play audiometry.
• Basic hearing evaluation, including air/bone conduction, speech reception threshold and speech discrimination testing
• Tympanometry, which determines the functioning of the middle ear
• Otoacoustic emission testing, which assesses cochlear outer hair cell function in the inner ear
• Auditory Processing Evaluations, which assesses the brain’s ability to process sound
• Diagnostic Auditory Brainstem Evoked Response (BSER) testing, requires no participation for the child, determines how well information travels from the hearing nerve to the brain
• Auditory Steady State Response (ASSR) audiometry
• Universal Newborn Hearing Screenings (UNHS)
• Follow up Newborn Hearing Evaluations, offered for babies who referred on their UNHS

The pediatric audiologists are also integrated into the hospital providing inpatient and outpatient evaluations and special services for the Down syndrome program, cystic fibrosis center, autism diagnostic clinic, infant therapy program and cancer survivorship program.

Hearing aid services.

We provide a complete range of hearing aid types (e.g., digital and bone anchored, etc.), including:

• Hearing aid and earmold selection
• Counseling regarding care and maintenance
• Electroacoustic analysis
• Real ear measurements and DSL programming for enhanced hearing aid fitting, verification, and validation
• Assistive listening devices, including FM units, telephone amplifiers, alerting devices and Bluetooth accessories
• Custom earmolds, swim molds, noise reduction earmolds, and musician’s earmolds
• Collaboration with local schools and county ESCs to ensure academic needs are being met with regards to hearing needs

In addition, our EARS (Early Auditory Response Strategies) program helps families and physicians get children with hearing loss back on track with services such as amplification (hearing aids) and listening habilitation, speech and language evaluation and therapy, Early Intervention services, infant therapy evaluations, and assistance with coordinating school services, genetics evaluations, and special imaging

The Audiology Department requires a referral from your primary care physician or specialist prior to scheduling an appointment. If your child is under 18 years of age or has an underlying medical condition, clearance from an ENT physician is required before a hearing aid evaluation and fitting.

We perform a range of pediatric audiology tests including the following:

• Auditory Brainstem Response Testing (ABR, BSER, ASSR, hearing test)
• Central Auditory Processing Evaluations
• Hearing Tests
• Otoacoustic Emissions Test (OAE)
• Universal Newborn Hearing Screening