Click Here
Click Here

ABR's | CAPD | Hearing Testing

Hearing Testing

Step One: The Interview
Purpose: To help your AudigyCertified™ professional at Family Audiology determine the type and extent of the child's problem and uncover any specific areas requiring further attention.

Step Two: The Examination
Purpose: To help your AudigyCertified professional at Family Audiology determine whether the difficulties the child is experiencing could be caused by an obstruction or damage to the ear canal or ear drum. Your AudigyCertified professional at Family Audiology will use a special instrument called an otoscope or video otoscope to inspect the outer ear.

Step Three: The Testing
Purpose: To help the hearing care professional determine the nature of the child's hearing difficulties. Tests, like the following, may be used depending on their assessment of their needs:

Audiometric pure tone evaluation to measure the child's hearing at different frequencies. This test varies depending on the age of the child. For children under 6 months of age, behavioral observation to sound is used. Children 6 months to 2.5 years are tested using visual reinforcement to sound. Those between 2.5 and 5 years of age are tested using play audiometry, in which a game is used to elicit responses to sound. Children ages 5 and up are tested similar to adults.
Speech evaluation to measure how well the child hears and understands ordinary conversation at different volumes.
Immittance middle ear evaluation to measure how the child's ear drum and hearing react to varying degrees of air pressure. This can determine if the child has fluid in the middle ear space, which can affect hearing sensitivity.
If the child is suffering from a hearing loss, his/her results will be documented on an audiogram.

Step Four: Treatment Options
Hearing Systems
Hearing systems come in a variety of designs, with a wide range of functions and features to address a child's specific needs. The most basic components include a microphone, an amplifier, a receiver, and (in the case of digital hearing systems) a small computer. The unprecedented effectiveness of modern digital systems comes from a powerful combination of professional expertise, software, and hardware.

Surgery & Implants
Devices surgically inserted into the ear to improve hearing, facilitate lip-reading, and make it easier to distinguish certain sounds. Typically, these are most helpful to deaf or profoundly hearing-impaired children unable to use hearing systems.

A few examples of surgical implants:

Cochlear Implants
Bone-Anchored Hearing Systems
Auditory Brainstem Implants

FM Systems
FM technology allows an individual to speak into a microphone which transmits the signal directly to the childs ear or hearing aid. These can be useful in the classroom setting.

Pediatric Case History Form