Audiology

Your ears are the gateway to the sounds that you enjoy every day: music, laughter, friends and family. A hearing loss can affect your everyday life, ranging from some difficulties hearing clearly to severely affecting your ability to work, concentrate or communicate with people.

Audiologists are healthcare professionals trained in the assessment and treatment of hearing disorders. They examine individuals of all ages and identify those with the symptoms of hearing loss and other auditory, balance and related sensory and neural problems. The goal of the Confluence Health audiology team is to help people improve their ability to communicate so they can lead fuller lives.

When you become a patient of our practice, you can be sure you will be treated by a caring team of professionals who will put your needs first and work with you to determine your best options for hearing health. We understand that hearing loss can affect the way you enjoy life, and our team strives to provide solutions in a clear, concise and caring manner.

Our Services Include:

• Complete hearing tests for children and adults
• Newborn hearing screenings and diagnostic hearing tests for infants
• Auditory Brainstem Response testing (ABR )
• Tinnitus (ringing in ears) diagnostic testing
• Evaluation and fitting of bone anchored hearing system
• Balance disorder assessment with videonystamography (VNG)
• Hearing screenings and hearing monitoring programs for occupational safety
• Hearing monitoring for patients on medications that affect hearing

Hearing Tests

If hearing loss is suspected, an appointment with one of our certified audiologists should be made for the purposes of testing and evaluation. Audiology specialists can test the hearing of anyone from 4 to 104 years of age. After the age of 50, a regular hearing test should be considered as important as one’s yearly physical checkup.

Testing is painless, comfortable and safe. Basically, it consists of answering questions about your hearing health, recognizing everyday words at different volume levels, and identifying different sounds. Your ability to hear each tone, or frequency, produces a unique hearing pattern which is recorded on an audiogram. The test is completed in a sound booth using earphones and bone conduction oscillator. The audiologist then uses the audiogram to determine the type and severity of hearing loss. These tests should help determine whether a hearing loss is best treated medically or with hearing aids.