Audiology Services

What is Hearing Loss?

Hearing loss can greatly affect your quality of life. Unmanaged hearing loss has an impact on education, employment, and general well-being. With children, it is especially important to diagnose and treat hearing loss as early as possible because of its effect on development and learning.

The basic types of hearing loss are conductive, sensorineural, and mixed. Conductive hearing loss occurs when sound is not sent through the ear canal to the eardrum and the tiny bones inside the middle ear effectively. Conductive hearing loss makes sounds softer and more difficult to hear. Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when there is damage to the inner ear or to the nerve pathways in the brain. This is the most common type of permanent hearing loss and cannot be medically or surgically corrected. Mixed hearing loss occurs when conductive combines with sensorineural hearing loss.

The degree of hearing loss refers to the severity. The levels of hearing loss are generally classified as mild, moderate, severe or profound. Hearing loss bordering between two categories is typically described as a combination of the two (such as moderate-to-severe). The shape of hearing loss refers to the degree and pattern of hearing loss across frequencies (tones). During testing, our audiologist illustrates this in a graph called an audiogram.

Hearing Services

Happy man with hearing aids at Delaware Speech & Hearing Center in Lewis Center, OH

Our hearing plays a central role in our connection to the world around us. When you or a family member notice you are struggling with your hearing, it can cause stress and frustration that affects different areas of your life. Our focus is in creating a comfortable and informative environment for addressing your hearing healthcare concerns in order to improve your quality of life.

Delaware Speech & Hearing Center is a local provider of hearing healthcare, with a focus on hearing loss, hearing loss prevention, hearing aid solutions, and more. Since 1959, we have been working with adults and children of all ages, diagnosing hearing and speech related difficulties and addressing them with the latest hearing technology.

We provide several supportive services to those who are struggling with their hearing, or questioning the auditory ability of a loved one. We provide the following services:

Hearing testing, screening, and evaluations
Tympanometry
Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER)
Industrial hearing conservation testing
Hearing aid evaluation, verification (including Real Ear Measurement or "REM" testing), and benefit analysis
Assistive Listening Devices and Alerting Devices
Tinnitus consultation and management
Hearing aid selection, orientation, and education

Hearing Tests

We depend on our hearing to communicate, detect noises, and interact with the world around us. That’s why when there is a problem with your or a loved one’s hearing, it’s important to take action right away and seek help. Delaware Speech & Hearing Center can help you. We are a local non-profit agency with trained audiologists serving cities across Central Ohio. We have the technology and experience capable of thoroughly diagnosing hearing problems.

As we age, we lose many of the hairs within our ear that detect sound, and our hearing can start to deteriorate. Hearing issues can occur at any time though. Some children are born with hearing loss, and benefit from early hearing testing to determine the cause, and what can be done to manage it. In addition to traditional audiological evaluations performed in a sound treated booth, we can test your hearing using some of the latest technologies in hearing healthcare:

Diagnostic Otoacoustic Emissions Testing (OAE) – This hearing testing equipment is used by audiologists to objectively determine the specific sounds your ears can detect.
Auditory Brainstem Response Testing (ABR) – This equipment determines if there are any issues with your hearing nerve, which is responsible for sending information to your brain.

Once we’ve determined the state of your hearing, we will discuss with you some of the available treatments, including hearing aids and rehabilitation. For children born with hearing loss, we also have several tools available for teaching children how to speak clearly and enunciate despite their auditory challenges.

Auditory Processing Disorder

Auditory processing disorder (APD) is when problems occur with the auditory pathways in the brain and affects how the brain understands and interprets external sounds. Differences in auditory processing can impact your behavior, communication skills, relationships, and learning ability.

It is absolutely essential to identify and treat APD early in development for treatment to have maximum and permanent effects. Some common risk factors of APD include:

History of speech, language, or learning problems
History of ear infections or tubes
Left handed or mixed dominance
ADHD/ADD
Trouble with reading and/or spelling
Questionable hearing – asks for repetition, TV loud, etc.
Hypersensitivity or unusual reaction to sudden/loud sounds
Evidence of generally poor listening skills

How is it diagnosed?

Auditory processing disorder is diagnosed by an audiologist who is specifically trained in auditory processing testing and treatment. A speech language pathologist or school psychologist may also give tests that measure receptive language, listening comprehension, or cognitive skills.

Who can be tested?

The minimum age for testing is 7 years old for a full evaluation. Additional speech/language and educational testing is also strongly recommended.

Consequences of APD in Children

Ineffective and inefficient communication
Risk for reading delay or failure
Academic underachievement
Risk of language impairment
Psychosocial problems
Behavior problems
Loss of motivation
Poor self-esteem

To schedule an appointment, call (614)789-4473.

Before coming in for the appointment your child should be well rested and had breakfast or lunch before their appointment. All medications must be taken on normal schedule and bring copies of any prior testing, therapy reports, special education or intervention plans for our audiologist to review.

Testing is conducted at the office in Powell at 3940 North Hampton Drive, Powell, OH 43065.