AVA Hearing Center on the Importance of Audiologists in Grand Rapids

Hearing Health Matters: Grand Rapids' AVA Audiologists

Grand Rapids, United States - July 31, 2023 / AVA Hearing Center /

The Importance of Audiologists in Grand Rapids

When one of your friends or neighbors suspects they have hearing loss, they contact an audiologist in Grand Rapids. The audiologists at AVA Hearing Center provide hearing tests and hearing health care to keep patients interacting with the world around them.

What Audiologists Do

Audiologists are hearing specialists with training in the following areas:

• Anatomy, physiology, and neurology
• Hearing aids and cochlear implants
• Electrophysiology, acoustics, and psychophysics
• Sign language

When patients need a hearing test or help to hear the world around them, an audiologist can diagnose the problem and provide treatment solutions. They work with other health specialists to treat conditions like tinnitus, auditory processing disorder, and dizziness.

When To Call an Audiologist

How do people know when they need an audiologist in Grand Rapids? They look for the following signs in themselves or their loved ones:

• Frequently asking people to repeat what they said
• Keeping the volume on the TV or music unusually high
• Trouble hearing people while talking on the phone
• Talking differently from peers, including trouble pronouncing common or simple words
• Struggling to complete schoolwork or listen in class
• Particular difficulty hearing high-pitched tones like doorbells, birds chirping, and alarms
• Avoiding loud or noisy social situations
• Exhaustion from the extra energy expended trying to hear people

Audiologist Treatment

The audiologists in Grand Rapids working at AVA Hearing Center provide the following practices:

Diagnosis

Our audiologists can diagnose various hearing, tinnitus, and balance issues. The following are a few examples of the diagnostic tests they run:

• Ear examination: The audiologist physically checks the ear for potential damage or blockages.
• Pure tone testing: The audiologist plays tones at different pitches and intensities to establish the patients hearing threshold.
• Bone conduction testing: This can detect wax buildup or damage to the sensory cells in the middle ear.
• Speech testing: The audiologist has the patient repeat words to determine whether any problem exists with their speech.
• Auditory brainstem response: The audiologist can use this method to determine the brains response to sound as an alternative to pure tone testing.

Interpretation

After a hearing test, the audiologist interprets the results based on objective behavioral measures to determine the best course of treatment.

Counseling

The audiologist can help patients accept their results and advise them on the best treatment. This includes seeking out alternative solutions when the patient has price constraints.

Device Services

When patients need hearing aids or other listening devices, our audiologists help pick the best models. They also fit and program each device, ensuring it performs optimally. Our specialists might suggest more extensive hearing assistive technology systems (HATS) for serious conditions.

Evaluation

When children and adults have central auditory processing disorders, audiologists evaluate the severity of the condition.