Audiology And The Hearing Tests

By Roxanne Cruz


The branch of science that studies hearing, balance and its disorder is called audiology. Catering to the needs of every child and adult, Long Island audiology has been serving for quite sometime. Audiology specialists, or audiologists, are health care professionals who have a specialization in diagnosing and treating disorders of the ears and its parts and other related issues.

Apart from that, they can employ various testing strategies to identify if you are within normal listening range or if you are affected to what degree. They can dispense hearing aids, cochlear implants and recommend whatever options available that may be of assistance. They can even counsel families whose family member is undergoing a new diagnosis, and teach them the necessary compensation skills.

Audiologists provide various services like hearing tests, speech audiometry, and vestibular assessments. These tests are usually conducted in rooms that are soundproofed and has calibrated equipment. Some of these tests are otoscopy, which is an assessment of the state of the outer canal and the eardrum.

The visual evaluation of the area at the back the eardrum which contains the middle ear bones, or middle ear system is called tympanometry. The awareness, identification, and comprehension of speech in a quiet or noisy background can be evaluated through speech audiometry. The assessment of your listening sensitivity the range of pitches and frequencies is called pure tone audiometry.

Otoacoustic emission test measures the acoustic response that is produced by the inner ear in response to the sound stimulus. Vestibular assessment is usually used on dizzy patients to determine the cause of dizziness since eighty five percent of dizziness is related to the ears. Evoked potential test measures the electrical sensitivity of the brain in response to the stimulation to a specific sensory nerve pathways, like the brain stem and the auditory sense.

These tests are used to evaluate the patient, hence making a confident diagnosis and treatment plan. Aside from identifying and treating the disorder, they also give options on how to manage your ear problems, some of these are aid amplification and rehabilitation programs. Audiologists can make the necessary adjustments to your listening aid since they are equipped with the knowledge to make a proper decision.

Audiologists are usually part of a cohesive team of health care specialists, like physicians, physical therapists, speech pathologists, and occupational therapists, to bring a more effective treatment program. Most ear doctors work with the general populace, but there are some who specialize in working with children. Others are more interested in research related to hearing disorders and some opt to work in schools.

In general, you will need to earn a Doctor of Audiology or AuD to practice it which usually takes four years after earning a baccalaureate. This requires almost two thousand hours of supervised clinical rotations to make sure that each graduate is prepared and knowledgeable in evaluating ear and balance needs. Audiologists in all states are required to be licensed or registered.

It is a rapidly developing field whose scientists are in demand in the US and worldwide and many states require newborns to be screened for sensory loss and apply early intervention. These doctors are often directly involved with their patients who are usually young children or elderly citizens. Long Island Audiology have improved the quality of life of their patients by giving back the gift of hearing to them.




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