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Audiology Services

young siblings

Customized hearing health care from newborn to seventeen years.

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Pediatric audiology refers to the testing, identifying, and monitoring of hearing acuity, speech understanding and auditory processing in individuals from birth to seventeen years of age. Additionally, it is the identification and intervention of the pathologies and disorders related to the auditory and vestibular (balance) systems for these young individuals. 

  

Clinicians with expertise in this field understand that working with pediatric patients is more than simply completing the same tasks for an adult; just for a smaller person. 

  

Competently diagnosing and treating hearing loss requires time, patience, and an understanding of each child’s needs to successfully obtain results. For children who are in the stages of learning language, it is crucial for best practices to be implemented to optimize success and to keep a child on pace with their developmental milestones.

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​Contact RHSC to schedule an appointment and learn more about our Pediatric Audiology Services: Call (585) 271-0680, email info@rhsc.org​, or fill out our Contact Us Form​​.

Pediatric Audiology

Did You Know?

  • Children learn approximately 90% of their language from incidental learning, meaning that most of the words they know are not directly taught to them, but are overheard as their parents and family members speak to them in the grocery store, the car, or while making dinner at home. [1]
     

  • Early identification and intervention of hearing loss is crucial, and some children may be born with normal hearing but exhibit a progressive hearing loss later in life. 
     

  • As an Early Intervention Provider, we work with children from birth to three to dispense, program, and maintain hearing aids and bone oscillating hearing devices, as well as hearing assistive technology for hearing aids, cochlear implants, and
    non-surgical bone oscillating devices.

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[1] Doyle, Melanie and Dye, Linda. (2002). Mainstreaming the Student who is Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Retrieved on June 14, 2013 from: http://www.handsandvoices.org/pdf/mainst_cal.pdf

Did You Know?

 Services We Provide

Services We Provide

  • Treat hearing loss in infants and children (Ages Newborn to 17) 

  • Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

    • RHSC is a certified CAPDOTS provider to improve auditory processing abilities.

  • ​Custom earplugs to prevent ear infections and water exposure

    • For example: recreational and competitive swimming

  • Early Intervention Services

    • ​Families with no or limited insurance coverage may be able to obtain hearing equipment and hearing assistive technology at little or no cost.

  • Newborn Hearing Screenings

    • RHSC is enrolled in the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program through New York State, and we perform Universal Newborn Hearing Screenings. 

  • Noise-induced hearing loss

    • For example: extensive use of ear buds and attending concerts/musicals.

  • Pediatric hearing aid consultations and fittings. 

  • Tinnitus Consultation (also known as Ringing in the Ears)

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Common Causes

There are common causes of hearing loss in children.​

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  • Blockage in the outer ear (for example, wax or a foreign body)

  • Damaged eardrum or middle ear bones

  • Ear infections

  • Exposure to loud noise

  • Genetic and hereditary conditions

  • Head injury (for example, a skull fracture)

  • Infections:

    • Congenital (for example, toxoplasmosis, rubella, CMV, herpes, or syphilis)

    • Acquired (for example, influenza, meningitis, labyrinthitis, mumps, or syphilis)

  • Medications that are ototoxic (toxic to the ear)

Common Causes

Your First Visit

What to Expect At Your First Visit:

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  • Questions will be asked at the beginning of the visit to gain further insight into the reasons for the appointment and to learn more about your child.
     

  • While the provider asks questions, they will gently work to establish a rapport with your child to help them feel comfortable during the appointment.
     

  • Questions will likely be related to family history of hearing loss and hearing disorders, your child’s health history, prenatal and birth history, ear infection and allergy history, how they respond to environmental sounds, and his/her current communication and language skills. 
     

  • Depending on your child’s abilities and behaviors, testing methods may vary.

Your First Visit

When to see an Audiologist, Pediatrician, Otolaryngology or Otology Specialist

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  • Babies born in U.S. hospitals are screened for hearing loss within their first month of life. Doctors may refer a child to an audiologist for further testing, known as newborn screenings.
     

  • Toddlers and children should continue to be screened for hearing loss at regular intervals by their Pediatrician and more often if they show signs of hearing loss. Pediatricians may refer a child to an audiologist for further testing.
     

  • We work closely with primary care physicians and specialists in Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose, and Throat) and Otology (hearing and balance disorders and injuries or diseases of the skull base) in the evaluation and monitoring of hearing in patients (for example, middle ear infections/fluid).
     

  • If a significant wax blockage or middle ear fluid is identified, we may refer a client to see a Pediatrician, Otolaryngologist, or Otology specialist.

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Specialist Involvement

Specialist Involvement

Resources

Resources

  • Video of how we hear and explanation of all the parts of the ear: Click Here 

  • Ear Infections, Swimmer’s Ear, CAPD, Hearing Loss in Children:

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