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Audiology Clinic

The Pediatric Audiology Clinic is a service provided by Nicole D. Samuelson, Au.D., CCC, an audiologist from Central Kansas ENT Associates Audiology Consultants. Children who have developmental delays and disabilities, who are receiving therapy and educational services from the Infant Child Development Program, are eligible to receive Audiology services in the Pediatric Audiology Clinic.

In the clinic, Dr. Samuelson will evaluate your child’s hearing with an otoscopic exam followed by a tympanogram. Your child will also have a hearing test in our Audiology Hearing Booth. The clinic allows Dr. Samuelson to share information with ICD staff for treatment planning and services needed for each child.

Why is it important to have my child's hearing screened?

The most important time for your child to learn language is during the first 3 years of life. In fact, children begin learning speech and language in the first 6 months of life. Children learn to talk by imitating sounds around them and the voices of their parents and caregivers. Hearing is an important aspect of a child’s cognitive, emotional, and social development. Even a partial or mild hearing loss can have an adverse effect on a child’s ability to understand and speak language.

How will my child's hearing be screened?

Before we do the hearing test, we first measure the movement of your child’s eardrum. This is done by a quick, pain free procedure known as Tympanometry, in which a soft plastic earphone is inserted into the ear, applying air pressure and sending a tone/sound into the ear canal. This allows us to determine if there is any fluid in the child’s ear that could impact the results of the hearing test.

An OAE-otoacousitcs emission is another screening tool which allows us to measure whether or not the ear responds to sound. This is done by placing a small plastic earphone into the ear canal. A normal “echo” sound should be produced when sound is emitted through the earphone.

If your child is six months or older and has head control, we will screen their hearing in a sound booth which requires the child to respond to different sounds controlled by the Audiologist.

Signs of possible hearing loss:

  • Not reacting to loud noises or sounds
  • Not being awakened by loud noises
  • Not being able to follow directions
  • Poor language development
  • Not turning his/her head in the direction of your voice
  • Speaking loudly or not using age appropriate language skills
  • Has repeated ear infections
  • Fails a hearing test

Definitions

Audiology – the science of the assessment and management of hearing and balance disorders.

Cerumen – earwax. Substance produced by the glands under the hairs in the cartilaginous portion of the external auditory meatus. Comprised of the secretions of the apocrine and sebaceous glands.

Eardrum – colloquial term for tympanic membrane.

Eustachian tube – tube, which is normally closed, between the nasopharynx and the middle ear system. It is opened by contraction of the levator veli palatini and tensor veli palatini during swallowing and yawning.

Hertz – (Hz) measure of the frequency of sound, the number of back and forth vibrations in one second of time.

Inner ear – fluid-filled hole in the temporal bone containing the sense organs for hearing and balance.

Localization – the ability of a person to determine the location of a sound source that is present in sound field (somewhere out in the room). See also lateralization, a related term, meaning to perceive the sound in one ear or the other when presented by earphones or bone conduction.

Outer ear – section of the ear that includes the pinna and external auditory meatus.

Middle Ear - The space between the eardrum and the inner ear that contains the three auditory ossicles, which convey vibrations through the oval window to the cochlea.

Infant Child Development Program
155 North Oakdale, Suite 300
Salina, KS 67401
(785) 452-6050

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