Hearing – Audiology & Speech

Is It Time to Get Hearing Aids?

If you’re reading this, you may already suspect you might need hearing aids. If you answer yes to two or more of these questions, it’s time to schedule an appointment.

Do you & your significant other argue over what was said to you?
Do others complain the TV is too loud?
Do you use the phrases, “Excuse me?”, “Can you repeat that?”, or “What did you say?” several times a day?
Do you plan your nights out based on how loud it might be at your destination?
Do you avoid large family dinners because they’re too noisy?

Comprehensive Evaluation

The process of hearing seems simple enough on the surface: we hear a sound, we recognize the sound, and we react to the sound. In reality, hearing is a complex process that requires the coordination of a number of different mechanisms within our ears and brain.At Audiology & Speech Solutions we perform comprehensive hearing exams to ensure we get a complete picture of your hearing health. This includes assessment of all functions of the ear including:

Otoscopic examination to check for excessive earwax,
Middle ear assessments to ensure there is no fluid or other disorders of this area of the ear
Comprehensive hearing testing to determine type and severity of hearing loss
Speech testing to validate results and determine clarity of speech and possible candidacy for hearing aids
Complete and thorough counseling to confirm all results are clear and understood by all involved.

Hearing Aid Options

Hearing aids are an advanced solution for hearing loss. Current hearing aids are less noticeable and have better sound quality than ever before. They’re a lot different from the hearing aids of your parents! If you’re struggling to have conversations with family and friends, it may be time to give hearing aids a chance to improve your quality of life.

By working with several of the major hearing aid manufacturers, we can make sure to find the device that best fits your lifestyle, your hearing loss and your budget. Still not sure? Ask for a hearing aid trial so you can be confident our choice is the right one for you.

Brands we trust:

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PHONAK HEARING AIDS

With a myriad of device options Phonak has the right hearing aid for you, regardless type/degree of
hearing loss, your lifestyle, your personal preferences, you or your loved
ones age, or your budget.

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SIGNIA HEARING AIDS

Signia hearing aids deliver the sound that nature intended by delivering uncompromised audibility and preserving the familiar sound of your own natural voice. Signia also has several unique options for patients who also suffer from tinnitus, such as notch therapy.

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WIDEX HEARING AIDS

Our uncompromising approach to innovation has led to such advances as the world’s first digital in-the-ear hearing aid, as well as our own revolutionary wireless technology. Widex also provides proprietary therapy for tinnitus with their Zen program.

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OTICON HEARING AIDS

People First is a promise: everything at Oticon begins with the people we are doing it for. This manufacturer focuses on not simply trying to help you hear more, but to live more.

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UNITRON HEARING AIDS

The small size & flawless finish contribute to the impressive appearance. Each detail is combined for comfort and functional buttons are designed for effortless use.

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RESOUND HEARING AIDS

Your hearing experience should address your unique needs. Resound has proven to be reliable, innovative & capable of providing great sound quality design excellence.

Pediatric Audiological Evaluation

If you suspect your child has a hearing loss, you are not alone. The idea of having a child with hearing impairment can be scary and the process may seem daunting, but we have the resources to help you and your child. What should you do if your child has special communication needs? What are the warning signs of hearing loss in children?

Hearing Loss in Children

Hearing loss can affect a child’s ability to develop communication, language, and social skills. The earlier children with hearing loss start receiving services, the more likely they are to reach their full potential. Below are a few simple developmental milestones. If you feel your child isn’t exhibiting these behaviors, it may be worth coming in for a simple hearing exam.

Birth to 3 months old

Your baby should react to loud sounds.

4 to 6 months old

Your baby should babble in a speech-like way and use many different sounds.

7 months to 1 year

Your baby should turn and look in the direction of sounds.

1 to 2 years

Your toddler should follow simple commands (“Roll the ball”) and understand simple questions (“Where’s your shoe?”).

Testing of Our Pediatric Patients

We know that our pediatric patients are not just short adults.

The evaluations that we do are designed with the understanding that children cannot be expected to complete complex commands and have incredibly short attention spans. Rest assured we know what we’re doing when it comes to our youngest patients.

OTOACOUSTIC EMISSIONS TESTING

Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) allows hearing testing within the first days of life. Newborn screening is simple and painless, and can make a significant difference in a child’s future. OAE screening procedures for newborns and infants do not require the baby to respond. A miniature earphone is placed in the ear, sounds are played and an automatic response is measured. The normal ear responds with an echo that is picked up by the microphone. When a baby has a hearing loss, no echo can be measured. About 10% of babies do not pass the hospital OAE screening. Newborns that do not pass the hospital screening are typically referred for a follow-up audiologic evaluation. Although most babies will pass the follow-up hearing testing as a refer results is likely due to birth fluids or debris in the ear canal, fluid in the middle ear, or movement and/or crying during the test, it is very important to take your baby for this testing to ensure they get the help they need should a hearing problem be present. If your child does not pass the follow-up hearing test, they may then be referred for more in-depth audiological and medical assessment before three months of age. These assessments will verify the presence of hearing loss and help identify options for treatment.

VISUAL REINFORCEMENT AUDIOMETRY

Once a child reaches the age of 6-7 months to 2+ years old, sounds are presented through a speaker or earphone and the child is trained to look toward the sound. When the child looks to the sound, they are reinforced by a moving toy or a flashing light. As children mature they may be asked to point to pictures in a book, body parts, i.e. eyes, ears, nose, fingers, or objects in the room.

CONDITIONED PLAY AUDIOMETRY

As children get older, instead of turning to a light or moving toy, they can be taught to complete actions such as placing a toy in a bucket or completing a puzzle in response to sound. This helps us to get comprehensive results on young children by making our test feel like a game!

Hearing Aids for Infants & Children

Our passion is to help our patients to hear better. Advanced diagnostic examinations allow us to determine the best plan of action to improve your hearing.

OUR PROMISE TO YOU

You’ve been told that your child needs to have their hearing checked. This can be a scary time. We understand how you’re feeling and you can rest assured all of your questions will be answered and your visit with us will be as stress-free as possible.

Hearing Aid Pricing

Hearing aids can be a big investment. Most practices “bundle” their hearing aid prices. This means you pay one lump sum for the devices and all included services. It can be tricky to determine exactly what you’re paying for when this expensive model is used. With the unbundled model, you’re able to see exactly what you’re paying for – and only get exactly what you need.

1.What is unbundling?

Unbundling is an individualized service plan that makes sure you get exactly what you need – and you don’t pay for anything extra! Each service plan comes with a set number of services to suit you – and should you need anything more in the future? Our pricing and fees are completely transparent, no hidden costs here.

2.What kinds of services might I need?

Each service plan includes three basic appointments – a baseline hearing test, a hearing aid evaluation and communication needs assessment, and your hearing aid fitting. In these three appointments we will make sure you get the right hearing aids for you – and that they are expertly fit to your hearing loss and lifestyle.

3.What about follow-up appointments?

Yearly hearing tests and hearing aid follow-ups are recommended. Beyond this, different number of follow-ups are included with each plan, depending on how much support you need. Things a little harder than you thought? Add on more appointments, no problem!

4.What happens if my hearing aids aren’t working?

All devices, regardless of service plan, come with 2-3 year warranties in case of emergencies. Devices also come with loss and damage coverage that can be used if a device is lost or broken beyond repair.

	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
Hearing Test	x	x	x
Hearing Aid Evaluation with communication assessment	x	x	x
Hearing Aid Fitting	x	x	x
Warranties and Loss and damage	x	x	x
Yearly hearing test and hearing aid check	x	x	x
1 additional follow up	x
3 additional follow ups		x
5 additional follow ups			x
Year long supply of batteries and other necessities			x
Hearing aid drop off service		x	x

$xxxx per hearing aid
$xxx for quality check
$xxx dispensing fee for programming and orientation to your device(s)
$xxxx for 3 Year Care Plan (includes batteries)

Annual Membership model – $xxx

Comprehensive Hearing Testing
Hearing Aid Programming
Real Ear Measurement
Routine cleanings (four per year)
Replacement domes and filters
Hearing Aid Batteries (104 cells)

Real Ear Measurement

Our passion is to help our patients to hear better. Advanced diagnostic examinations allow us to determine the best plan of action to improve your hearing. We specifically conduct real ear measurements to ensure that you are getting optimal results. Although hearing aid software programs the device to your hearing test, every individual ear is different which can affect how sound is transmitted. By performing real ear measures, we can make sure your hearing aid is providing you with the appropriate amount of sound for speech understanding.

Aural Rehabilitation

Aural rehabilitation or “Aural rehab,” is the process of diagnosing and describing a hearing loss, followed by the implementation of different individualized therapies. We use aural rehab in our practice as an important component in the overall care of our patients. We see our patients as more than a set of ears and a hearing test. The goal of our aural rehab therapies is to not only treat hearing loss, but focus on the individual needs and difficulties each client has. We hope you entrust your hearing healthcare in our practice – one that views you as a completely unique individual.

Steps in an aural rehab program for adults

Steps in an aural rehab program for adults
Other treatment Strategies:

Steps in an aural rehab program for adults

Assessment of impact of hearing loss
- This includes not only a basic hearing assessment to determine the type and degree of hearing loss, but also several communication assessments to understand the client’s individual needs.
Assessment for the use of hearing aids and or assistive listening devices
- Taking into account both the hearing test and other assessments, which may examine tinnitus, effect of hearing loss on quality of life, and readiness for hearing aids, we discuss a myriad of different options selected to suit each unique individual.
Assessment of listening strategies and speech reading skills – While hearing aids provide clients with access to sound that they are missing, this may not be enough for quality communication and processing. The below strategies can help bolster communication alongside hearing aid technology.
- Listening strategies: The process of teaching someone who has a hearing loss different strategies to improve their ability to communicate when listening with or without amplification.
- Speech reading: The process of using, teaching, or understanding communication using visual cues observed from the speaker’s mouth, facial expressions, and hand movements.
- Auditory Training: The process of teaching an individual with a hearing loss the ability to recognize speech sounds, patterns, words, phrases, or sentences via audition.
- Unisensory: Therapy philosophy that centers on extreme development of a single sense for improving communication.
Developing a treatment program including the family
- For many individuals, family support is crucial for hearing rehabilitation. We aim to provide the best options for not only the individual, but the best option for them to connect with family and loved ones.
- Counseling to ease the adjustment to hearing aids and/or assistive listening devices and to the possible psychological, emotional, and occupational impacts of hearing loss.
Delivery of the treatment program
- Hearing aid orientation: The process of providing education and therapies to persons (individual or group) and their families about the use and expectations of wearing hearing aids to improve communication.
Outcome measures

Other treatment Strategies:

The Lace Program

Listening and Communication Enhancement (LACE) is an interactive computerized aural rehabilitation program conceived by leading audiologists at the University of California at San Francisco, and has already helped thousands of people who live with some degree of hearing loss increase their listening skills by up to 45%. We don’t really hear in our ears; we hear in our brain. Hearing aids can help a person detect softer sounds, but they don’t necessarily provide good listening skills. Even people with normal hearing can be poor listeners, and good listening skills are an essential component in effective communication. Other components include rapid thought processing, auditory memory, use of language skills, and interactive strategies. These abilities can be damaged both by hearing loss and by the natural aging process. LACE is designed to enhance the ability to communicate by training the brain to best utilize these skills. Just as physical therapy can help rebuild muscles and adjust movements to compensate for physical weakness or injury, LACE will help you develop skills and strategies to deal with situations in which hearing is inadequate. Whether you wear hearing aids, are just acquiring aids, or simply wish to improve your listening skills, LACE training will help you get the most out of the sounds of life.

Custom Earmolds

We offer specialized earmolds not only for hearing aids, but for hunters, musicians, swimmers, and those who work in loud environments. A custom fit provides improved comfort and increased protection.

The noises we perceive in our surroundings begin as sound waves, which travel through the outer ear, to the middle ear, and eventually into the inner ear (also known as the cochlea). The cochlea contains hair cells that move and turn sound waves into electrical energy, which is then sent to the brain where it is processed. One of the most common causes of hearing loss is noise exposure. Over time, loud sounds can damage the hair cells in the cochlea which do not grow back. This can occur through work like construction or even recreational activities like music or time spent at the shooting range. At Audiology and Speech Solutions, we work to provide you with custom earmolds designed to protect you from future or further noise damage.

Concierge Audiology

At Audiology & Speech Solutions, we know that the individuals who need our services most may have difficulty getting into the clinic. With our concierge audiology services, we can travel to your loved ones in nursing homes or other long term care facilities. Communication is a crucial component when measuring quality of life and we will ensure that despite location or physical limitations, your loved ones will receive the comprehensive care they need.

Concierge Services (not sure of these but I just added some examples):

Bedside audiometry
Hearing aid repairs/troubleshooting
Basic hearing aid dispensing

School Screenings

Hearing screenings in school are an integral part of identifying children with hearing loss that were not identified by newborn hearing screenings. This may be due to progressive loss, milder hearing losses, or false positives on the initial test.

Tinnitus

Tinnitus is a hearing condition in which an individual perceives a noise that does not have an external source, or that is usually imperceptible (ex. the sound of your own pulse). It can also be known as “ringing in the ears,” but noises might also sound like buzzing, hissing, whistling, etc.

Tinnitus is often just a nuisance, but it can disrupt daily living if it impacts a person’s ability to hear others speak, concentrate on work, and in extreme cases, prevent an individual from sleeping properly.

Tinnitus can be caused by extended exposure to loud noises, in which case it may coexist with hearing loss, and can also occur alongside age-related hearing loss.

Treatment for tinnitus involves treating either the underlying cause directly (for example, if the tinnitus is due to wax buildup or an ear infection), or helping patients to manage the condition in everyday life, if the cause itself cannot be treated (as is the case when tinnitus results from loud noise exposure). One treatment option for patients whose tinnitus is caused by prolonged exposure to loud sounds is the use of a tinnitus masker, which creates sounds intended to cancel out the sound of the condition.

If you are experiencing any of the above-mentioned symptoms, we can conduct an evaluation at Audiology & Speech Solutions and will work to develop the best treatment plan for you.