Questions for Your Audiologist
By: Jill Grattan, Nevada Dual Sensory Impairment Project
- What is my child’s hearing loss in each ear?
- What is the type of hearing loss my child has (e.g., conductive, sensorineural, mixed)?
- What type of sounds and noises will he/she have difficulty hearing?
- Will his/her hearing be affected by noisy environments and background noise (e.g., will he/she hear less in a class-room or restaurant)?
- What, if any, medical condition does my child have?
- Does my child have a progressive/degenerative condition?
- If yes, how rapidly should one expect changes to occur?
- What behaviors might I observe that indicate a change in my child’s hearing?
- How often should my child visit an audiologist to check his/her hearing?
- What suggestions do you have for the teacher working with my child?
- What information should be shared with the people who interact with my child?
- What assistive listening devices might benefit my child?
- What adaptations do you think my child might need in the educational setting or at home?
- What should be expected in terms of daily functioning (e.g., strain, headaches, frustration, etc.)?
Screening Questions
- What does the ‘newborn hearing screening test’ actually screen for?
- Can my child pass this test and still be hearing impaired?
- Tests related to hearing and functioning of the ear:
- Impedance testing - Tympanogram; Acoustic Reflex Test
- Otoacoustic Emissions Testing (OAEs)
- Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)
- Speech Audiometry - Speech Awareness Threshold (SAT) or Speech Detection Threshold (SDT); Speech Reception Threshold or Speech Recognition Threshold (SRT)
- Behavioral Testing - Behavioral Audiometry; Pure-Tone Audiometry or Pure-Tone Air Conduction Testing; Pure-Tone Bone Conduction Testing; Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA); Conditioned Play Audiometry
- For each hearing test listed above, you might want to ask:
- What does [blank] actually test for?
- Can my child pass the [blank] and still be hearing impaired?
- How old does my child need to be in order to be tested using [blank] ?
- What are the procedures to test my child using [blank] ?
- What is next step in testing my child's hearing and ear functioning?
Assistive Listening Device and Hearing Aid Questions
- What types of hearing aids and assistive listening devices are available?
- Will my child’s hearing be improved with a hearing aid?
- What types of hearing aids and assistive listening devices are available for profound hearing loss?
- What types of hearing aids and assistive listening devices are available for moderate hearing loss?
- What types of hearing aids and assistive listening devices are available for mild hearing loss?
- Does my child need hearing aids or another type of assistive listening device for a mild hearing loss?
- What are benefits and risks of hearing aids and assistive listening devices?
- There are many types of assistive listening devices including: cochlear implants, bone conduction hearing aids, in-the-canal-hearing aid, behind-the-ear hearing aids, several types of implanted hearing aids. Regardless of the type of hearing aid or assistive listening device, you may want to ask:
- How does a [blank] function/work?
- What are the benefits and risks of [blank] ?
- What does [blank] do that other hearing aids don’t or can’t?
- Will [blank] work if there is damage to the auditory nerve?
- Will [blank] work if my child has damage to other areas of the ear?
- How long will it be before we know if [blank] is helping?
- What happens if [blank] does not work?
- What happens to the inner ear function (or other areas of the ear) when [blank] is placed?
- What are the disadvantages to my child if I do not have him/her fitted for hearing aids or an assistive listening device?