Hearing Services

Our Hearing Services

Performing a hearing test will help us determine what kind of hearing issues you have and what hearing aids or solution you need. It needs to be conducted in a sound proof room where you will wear headphones or earlplugs connected to a device that will send sounds of different pitches and volume to your ear. You will require to respond to the sound by raising your hand or pressing a button.

Test Your Hearing

Performing a hearing test will help us determine what kind of hearing issues you have and what hearing aids or solution you need.

It needs to be conducted in a sound proof room where you will wear headphones or earlplugs connected to a device that will send sounds of different pitches and volume to your ear. You will require to respond to the sound by raising your hand or pressing a button.

Adult Hearing Assessment

A thorough hearing assessment or hearing test is done on adult patients to determine their hearing issues.

First, the audiologist will record your medical history and ask about your hearing in different situations. The audiologist will check your ears for wax or any sort of abnormality or infection. Then a hearing test will be conducted where you will have to wear ear plugs and respond to sounds you hear. Tympanometry is often conducted after hearing test where the condition of the middle ear or ear drum can be found out. After placing a soft tip in your ear, you will feel a slight change in pressure. The audiologist will suggest you the proper hearing care aids, based on the information you give us. You may also be referred to ear, nose or throat department for further investigation by a specialist doctor. Children Hearing Assessment Although serious hearing problem in newborn babies and children is rare, a hearing assessment can help to identify any hearing issues at an early stage. Routine hearing tests are conducted for newborn babies and children to identify any audiology related problems early on their development.

Children Hearing Assessment

Ideally, your baby will be screened within the first few days of birth and screening should be completed by the time your baby is 1 month old. However, your baby can be screened up until they are 3 months old.

The test usually takes 15–20 minutes and is best done when your baby is settled or sleeping.The screening equipment plays a series of soft sounds into your baby’s ear through a headphone that is held gently on your baby’s head, and records the response. A computer will show how your baby’s ears respond to the sounds.Newborn hearing screening does not hurt or harm your baby and you can be with them during screening. It is simple and safe – most babies sleep through it.If you do not get offered newborn hearing screening for your baby, ask your midwife or doctor to refer you to your local DHB newborn hearing screeners.

Digital Hearing Aid Fitting

There are different types of hearing aids and all of them are digital and are available free of charge at Hearing Care Center.

Our audiologist can suggest your suitable hearing aid and hearing aid fitting after identifying your hearing issue.

Open Fit

The open fit hearing aids sit behind the ear while a soft plastic dome and thin tube goes into the ear canal.

This type of hearing aid is suitable for mild-to-moderate hearing loss patients. Mould Fit The mould fit hearing aid is placed behind the ear and the mould is made for the shape of the ear. This type of hearing aid fitting is best suited for moderate-to-profound hearing loss patients. The audiologist can take the impression of your ear and the specialist laboratory can then make the ear mould of your size. It may take up to 6 weeks to get ready.

Cochlear Implant

A cochlear implant is a small electronic device that works as an option in case of hearing aids do not provide the clarity of sound needed to comprehend speeches

. It electrically stimulates the cochlear nerve, which is the nerve for hearing. The implant has two parts- the external part sits behind the ear and picks up sounds from the microphone to processes it and transmit it the internal part while the external part goes under the skin behind the ear during an outpatient surgery. A thin wire and small
electrodes lead to the cochlea where the wire sends signals to the cochlear nerve to produce hearing sensation.

Voice Therapy

Hearing Care Center provides voice therapy program to reduce hoarseness through guided change in vocal behaviours.

It consists of a number of tasks that eliminate the harmful vocal behaviours and introduce healthy vocal behaviours.

Speech Therapy

Speech therapy is a routine treatment for most kids who suffer from speech and/or language disorders.

It assists them to articulate words and sentences better in a speech.

Polysomnography test

A polysomnography test, or sleep study, is a medical procedure that uses sensors to measure different aspects of your sleep.

What types of Hearing Test we do

1. Pure Tone Audiometry

This type of test, also known as pure tone audiometry, uses air conduction to measure your ability to hear sounds at various pitches and volumes. You will be asked to wear headphones and sit in a specially designed booth. A series of sounds will be broadcast through the headphones. Every time you hear a tone you will be instructed to raise your hand or press a button. The results will then be charted on an audiogram.

2. BOA (Behavioral observation audiometry)

Behavioral observation audiometry is a test performed in children under 3 years of age, non-cooperating children, children with disabilities, with a diagnosis of autism or CP. The test is performed in order to evaluate the response of auditory child when choosing a hearing aid or to assess the benefits of the hearing aid or the cochlear implant. As the name suggests is based on the study of behavioral and involuntary reflexes of the child.

3. Play audiometry

A test that uses an electrical machine to send sounds at different volumes and pitches into your child's ears. The child often wears some type of earphones. This test is changed slightly in the toddler age group and made into a game. The toddler is asked to do something with a toy (such as touch or move a toy) every time the sound is heard. This test relies on the child's cooperation, which may not always be possible.

4. Bone Conduction Testing

This is another type of pure-tone test that measures your inner ear’s response to sound. A conductor will be placed behind your ear; it will send tiny vibrations through the bone directly to the inner ear. This is different than the traditional version, which uses air to send audible sounds. If the results of this test are different than the pure-tone audiometry, your Green Valley audiologist can use this information to determine your type of hearing loss.

5. Speech Test

This type of testing is used to measure your speech reception threshold (SRT), or the faintest speech you can understand 50 percent of the time. It is administered in either a quiet or noisy environment and measures your ability to separate speech from background noise.

6. Tympanometry

This test measures the movement of your eardrum in response to air pressure. It can determine if there is a buildup of fluid, wax buildup, eardrum perforations or tumors.

7. Acoustic Reflex Testing

This test measures involuntary muscle contractions of the middle ear and is used to determine the location of your hearing problem (the ossicles, cochlea, auditory nerve, etc.) as well as the type of hearing loss.

8. Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)

This type of testing is used to determine whether a specific type of hearing loss—sensorineural—exists. It is also frequently used to screen newborns for hearing problems. In an ABR test, electrodes are attached to your head, scalp or earlobes, and you are given headphones to wear. Your brainwave activity is measured in response to sounds of varying intensities.

9. Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE)

7. Acoustic Reflex Testing

8. Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)

9. Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE)

OAEs are sounds generated by the vibrations of the hair cells in the cochlea of your inner ear. This type of testing uses a tiny probe fitted with a microphone and speaker to stimulate the cochlea and measure its response. Individuals with normal hearing will produce emissions; when hearing loss exceeds 25-30 decibels, no sound will be produced. This test helps determine whether there is a blockage in the ear canal, excess fluid in the middle ear or damage to the hair cells of the cochlea. OAE testing is often included in newborn hearing screening programs.
OAEs are sounds generated by the vibrations of the hair cells in the cochlea of your inner ear. This type of testing uses a tiny probe fitted with a microphone and speaker to stimulate the cochlea and measure its response. Individuals with normal hearing will produce emissions; when hearing loss exceeds 25-30 decibels, no sound will be produced. This test helps determine whether there is a blockage in the ear canal, excess fluid in the middle ear or damage to the hair cells of the cochlea. OAE testing is often included in newborn hearing screening programs. Any combinations of these tests may be ordered by your audiologist. Once they are complete, your Green Valley audiologist will be able to create an individualized treatment plan. Contact our office to schedule a hearing test today.