Audiology

Audiology

Audiology is provided by audiologists and speech/language pathologists to children with known or suspected hearing or listening disorders, and/or those with speech or language delays. It is the scope of practice for speech/language pathology (SLP) to provide the communication assessment and rehabilitation services to children who are deaf or hearing impaired.

Risk factors for hearing loss include:

• Chronic ear disease.
• Family history of childhood hearing loss.
• Hospitalization in a neonatal intensive care unit.
• Meningitis.
• Congenital ear malformations.
• Malformations and tumors of the ear and temporal bone.
• Chemotherapy.
• Speech and language delay.

Audiologists carry out a range of tests on adults and children to determine the presence, nature and extent of hearing loss and balance disorders, enabling accurate clinical diagnosis in a range of hearing related conditions. Audiologists provide hearing assessments for people referred by their GP or ear, nose and throat (ENT). For those patients who choose to go ahead with a hearing aid, we arrange comprehensive hearing aid fittings with a range of modern digital hearing aids fitted to exacting standards.

Our audiologists provide an on-the-day hearing assessment service for patients. They also provide an out-patient adult service which involves diagnosis, long-term management, rehabilitation and counseling for patients. This includes the supply of post aural hearing aids.