Audiology Department

 

What is an Audiologist?

Audiologists are specialized health-care professionals who evaluate, diagnose, and manage hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance disorders in children and adults.  Audiology is a well-respected and highly recognized profession. The audiologists at the Texas Ear Clinic have been specially trained and are familiar with advanced diagnostic procedures and the fitting of a wide range of hearing devices, including implantable hearing aid technology.

Our Audiologist

Kaitlyn M. Kennedy, AuD, AIB-VA

Dr. Kennedy joined the Audiology Department at the Texas Ear Clinic in 2022 after spending some time focusing on pediatric audiology. Originally from Missouri, she received her doctorate from Missouri State University. Dr. Kennedy has served on numerous committees for the American Academy of Audiology. Her professional interests include counseling patients and families, pediatric hearing loss, and neurodiagnostic testing. When not doing something audiology related, she loves playing in a frisbee league with her dog and trying new local coffee shops.

Diagnostic Testing and Services

Comprehensive Audiological Evaluation

  • Involves listening to tones and words in each ear through earphones in a sound treated booth to identify any hearing loss.

  • Also includes middle ear testing to check the middle ear system and eardrum function.

  • Testing will diagnose any middle ear and/or nerve hearing loss and determine the need for medical follow-up or hearing aids.

  • No preparations needed from the patient.

  • Test time: approximately 30 minutes .

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Hearing Aid Evaluation and Demonstrations

  • If hearing aids are warranted and the patient is ready to pursue, a hearing aid evaluation and demonstration will be provided.

  • Involves seeing, touching, and wearing different hearing aids to demonstrate potential benefits.

  • Style, features, and type of hearing aid will be determined based on individuals’ needs, wants, and hearing loss .

  • Patients may be allowed to borrow and wear hearing aids for a short time period to help make decision about hearing aid purchase.

  • We recommend patients bring a family member or close friend to the hearing aid evaluation to listen to a familiar voice with the hearing aids and help with the decision.

Hearing Aid Fittings

  • Only digital hearing aids are dispensed.

  • Also specialize in hearing aids that are designed to provide relief from tinnitus (i.e., ringing in the ears), as well as address hearing loss.

  • Price varies depending on sophistication of hearing aid technology selected.

  • Hearing aid purchase package includes repair warranty, loss and damage warranty, cleanings, adjustments, programming, and all hearing aid follow-up.

Implantable Hearing Devices- Baha and Cochlear Implants

  • Some patients are not candidates for hearing aids due to the type or severity of hearing loss. We provide alternative solutions, including the Baha and Cochlear Implants.

  • The Baha is an implantable hearing aid that uses bone vibration in the skull to transfer sound to the inner ears. This implant is ideal for patients with chronic middle ear problems or deafness in one ear.

  • The Cochlear Implant is a hearing implant that is placed in the cochlea of the inner ear. This implant is used for patients who have severe to profound hearing loss in both ears and difficulty understanding speech. This implant is ideal for patients whose hearing loss has progressed to the point where traditional hearing aids are no longer helpful.

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAEs)

  • OAEs test the cochlear function, which is part of the inner ear hearing system.

  • The patient listens to tones in each ear through an earphone.

  • This test helps assess toxic damage to the inner ear caused by chemotherapy, radiation, or long-term use of certain medications.

  • This test can also provide information of the cochlear damage related to tinnitus (i.e., ringing in the ears).

  • OAEs can also be used to obtain hearing information in small children that are not old enough to perform a standard hearing test.

  • No preparations are needed from the patient.

  • Test time: 5-10 minutes.

Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)

  • Provides assessment of the inner ear hearing nerve and the nerve’s connection to the brain.

  • Consists of placing wires around the head and ears and ear plugs in the ears.

  • A nerve response is recorded while the patient sleeps or relaxes and listens to different sounds.

  • This test may provide hearing information in small children that are not old enough to perform a standard hearing test.

  • No preparations needed from the patient.

  • Test time: 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Electrocochleography (ECoG)

  • A test of the fluid levels and pressure in the inner ear (cochlea).

  • Involves placing wires around the head and ears and placing ear plugs in the ears.

  • A cochlear response is recorded while the patient sleeps or relaxes and listens to a clicking sound.

  • No preparations needed from the patient.

  • Test time: 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Electroneurography (ENoG)

  • A test of facial nerve function.

  • The facial nerve is in very close proximity to the auditory nerve in the brain, so tests of this nerve may be performed if a patient is experiencing inner ear problems.

  • Involves placing wires around the head and recording the facial nerve response to a small electrical stimulation.

  • No preparations needed from the patient.

  • Test time- 10-20 minutes.

Balance and Vertigo Testing

Semicircular canals and cochlea

Rotational Chair

  • A balance test for dizzy or unsteady patients.

  • Involves recording of the inner ear balance system in response to movement.

  • The patient will be seated in a darkened booth in a chair that rotates at different speeds.

  • The patient will wear goggles or electrodes to record the inner ear response to the movement.

  • Specific preparations will be needed from the patient, including not eating, drinking, or taking certain medications prior to testing. Detailed instructions will be given upon scheduling of testing.

  • Test time- 10-15 minutes.

Videonystagmography (VNG)

  • A balance test for dizzy or unsteady patients. Dix-Hallpike is part of this testing and the Epley Maneuver can be performed on patients who test positive for BPPV.

  • 3 part test includes:

    • Recording of the eyes during various eye movements.

    • Recording of the eyes while moving in different positions.

    • Recording of the eyes while stimulating the balance system by putting air in the ears.

  • Specific preparations will be needed from the patient, including not eating, drinking, or taking certain medications prior to testing. Detailed instructions will be given upon scheduling of testing.

  • Test time- approximately 1 hour.  

Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMPs)

 
 
 

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  • A diagnostic evaluation for dizzy or unsteady patients.

  • Gives information about the balance system in the inner ear.

  • Involves placing wires around the head and neck and placing ear plugs in ears.

  • Records inner ear nerve and muscle responses while the patient holds head and neck in a certain position and listens to a clicking sound.

  • No preparations needed from the patient.

  • Test time: 15-20 minutes.

  • Patients wear goggles while the audiologist moves their head. This tests the function of each of the six semicircular canals individually by measuring the eye rotation response to an abrupt head rotation in the plane of the canal.

  • This is used to help diagnose reduction in vestibular function in one ear versus the other in patients with balance issues. It gives hearing health professionals the ability to quickly and objectively measure the vestibular ocular reflex (VOR) in response to a patient’s head movements within the normal range of daily motions.

  • Test time: 15 minutes.