The Hearing Center

What Is an Audiologist? / Services

Approximately 28 million American men, women and children have hearing loss that can significantly interfere with communication. Additionally, millions of Americans have tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in the ears), auditory processing problems (trouble focusing on and / or misunderstanding what is heard), frequent ear infections, and balance problems (dizziness or unsteadiness) that can occur with or without hearing loss and at any age.
 
From infancy through the golden years, ASHA-certified audiologists are the uniquely trained hearing healthcare professionals who can provide information and services to help prevent, identify, diagnose, and / or treat hearing loss, tinnitus, and auditory processing and balance problems. Don't wait, don't suffer — there is help and there is hope.

Infants
Congratulations! You're the proud parent of a brand-new bouncing baby. You count the fingers, you count the toes. Your baby has a loud cry and a healthy appetite. But does your baby hear? Is there a way to know? Absolutely! In almost every state the law requires that newborns have their hearing screened within days after birth. If your state has no law, you should ask for this hearing screening. Audiologists are uniquely qualified to identify and assess hearing loss in infants and toddlers and provide information, counseling, and intervention services. Audiologists ensure that infant hearing screening programs are run effectively and efficiently to provide parents with an answer to an important question: Can my baby hear my voice?

Children
English, recess, spelling, art, math, story time, wood shop — from preschool through high school children are developing, learning, and refining critical communication, academic, and social skills. Whether your child has a hearing loss, frequent ear infections, auditory processing problems (trouble listening or understanding), or normal hearing sensitivity; audiologists can help children achieve communication, academic, and social success by improving their listening skills and listening environment. School is a critical time for children to develop much of the knowledge and skills they will use for a lifetime. An audiologist can help your child get the most out of his or her education by providing prevention, identification, intervention, and rehabilitation services.

Adults
Careers, family, and social life place many demands on active adults. You want to be the best at what you do, and having good communication skills is essential. However, you notice that things just don't sound as clear or loud as they use to. Perhaps you're having a hard time understanding conversations. Were you supposed to bring 50 brochures to that important meeting or was it 15? You misunderstood, your child's recital was on the sixth not the seventh — you missed it. The concert was great, but your ears won't stop ringing. Voicemail messages always seem garbled, and you can't get the phone numbers right. Why am I dizzy all of the time? It takes so much concentration to follow conversations I'm exhausted every night when I get home. This is the way many active adults experience life, and in many instances they have a hearing loss, balance problems, or are damaging their hearing and don't even know it. An audiologist can help you find out and then provide you with the intervention, rehabilitation, and prevention services you need to be successful in your career and with your family.

Mature Adults
Phew! Now that you've retired, you want to just sit back and enjoy life. You're going to play with your grandchildren, go to the theater, travel, and do all the things you've dreamed of doing. But for some reason you feel isolated. You often have to ask people to repeat themselves, and they're annoyed with you and you're annoyed with them. The grandchildren speak much too softly and they mumble; why won't they just speak up? Your spouse complains that the TV is too loud, you no longer enjoy going to the theater, going out to dinner is a chore, and you've even stopped attending social gatherings. These are all signs that a hearing loss may be present. An audiologist can test your hearing and provide you with services that can help you hear and communicate better.

Who Are Audiologists?
Audiologists are professionals who are uniquely qualified to...

• Diagnose and treat hearing loss, balance, auditory processing, and other related disorders
• Recommend and provide audiologic rehabilitation services, such as:
  • Evaluating, fitting and monitoring hearing aids and other hearing assistive technology (e.g., cochlear implants, FM systems, other hearing assistive devices and systems)
  • Counseling clients and their families and / or caregivers
  • Providing direct intervention and rehabilitation services (e.g., speech reading, improving listening skills)
  • Supervise, administer and conduct hearing screening and hearing conservation programs (e.g., prevention education, ear protection)

Qualified Audiologists Have

• A master's or doctoral degree
• The Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-A) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
• State licensure, registration or school certification, where required

Where Do Audiologists Practice?
You can find audiologists in a variety of settings; some provide general audiologic services, while others specialize. Audiologists can be found working in various settings, including —

Private Practices

Healthcare Settings

Educational Settings

Community / Private / Nonprofit Agencies

Industrial Settings

Military Facilities

Is It Time to See an Audiologist?

• Ringing, roaring, or buzzing in one or both ears
• TV is set louder than others would like or enjoy
• Often ask people to repeat what they have said
• Difficulty understanding speech
• Speech sounds muffled or dull
• Problems listening in noise or in groups
• Academic problems
• Behavioral problems
• Inconsistent response to sounds
• Failed hearing screening
• Problems socializing with peers
• Frequent ear infections
• Delayed speech and language development
• Family / friend concerned about hearing status
• Sudden drop in hearing in either one or both ears
• Dizziness / lightheadedness / spinning sensation
• Balance problems / unsteadiness

If one or more of the items in the list above applies to you, it might indicate that a hearing loss, auditory processing, and / or balance problem is present. The best way to find out is to be evaluated by an ASHA-certified audiologist.

The Hearing Center is a full-service care facility:

• Complete Audiological Evaluations
• Hearing Aid Evaluations
• Hearing Aid Repair
• Dispensing of Conventional, Digital and Disposable Hearing Aids
• Custom-Fit Hearing Protection Devices
• Custom-Fit Swim Plugs
• Musicians' Earplugs
• Batteries
• Pediatric Audiology
• Advance Audiology
• Hearing Aids
• Digital Hearing Aids
• Hearing Aid Batteries
• Hearing Loss Prevention
• Hearing Loss Treatment
• Elderly Hearing Loss
• Hearing Loss in Children
• High-Frequency Hearing Loss
• Diabetes Hearing Loss
• Low-Frequency Hearing Loss
• Tinnitus
• Tinnitus Hearing Loss
• Hearing Loss Protection
• Hearing Impaired
• Hearing-Impaired Devices
• Hearing-Impaired Equipment
• Hearing-Impaired Aids
• Hereditary Hearing Loss

Who is at risk for Hearing Loss?

Hearing loss does not just affect the elderly it can affect anyone at anytime.  The most important thing to remember is that we are here to help diagnosis and treat your hearing loss.  In some instances hearing loss may only be temporary and it is important to seek treatment as soon as possible to help prevent further loss.  Noise exposure from employment, loud music (especially the use of in-the-ear head phones are the number one reason for hearing loss in younger patients.

 Remember.....

Selecting and fitting hearing aids involves both art and science. The art is our years of experience in assessing each patient’s needs and addressing his or her concerns. The science is the vastly improved new hearing aid technology. We offer hearing aids in every style and price range, from basic technology to the most advanced digital systems.