Hearing loss can impact children’s social development, behaviour and academic performance – so it’s important to identify and diagnose any issues as well as to implement treatments.
We offer effective and stress-free paediatric hearing care.
angli-EAR Hearing’s paediatric services include a range of assessments, designed for children of all ages. These tests are performed by audiologists who are highly experienced with children. Assessments are relaxed, painless and even fun. Toys and games might be used to obtain responses from the child, and they may be expected to wear overhead or in-the-ear headphones.
Otoscopy
We can look into the ear with a small video camera, called a video otoscope, to determine if there is an infection or blockage present. Should we find excess wax, this can be gently removed by our audiology team. Some preparation may be required, such as Earol drops (an olive oil spray). These details will be discussed with the parent or caregiver prior to the session.
Tympanometry
This pressure test allows us to determine if there is any infection in the middle-ear space. We can assess the movement of the eardrum and the tiny middle-ear bones, helping us understand how this part of the ear is functioning. Should the test highlight any concerns, it may be necessary to refer the child to a GP for medical treatment.
Otoacoustic emissions (OAE)
The OAE test allows us to measure the movement of the delicate hair cells in the inner ear. These are responsible for stimulating the nerve that sends auditory signals to the brain. During the test, a soft earphone will be placed in the ear of the child, to present them with different pitches of sound. A machine records the responses from the outer hair cells, giving us an estimation of the hearing. Damage in these outer hair cells is indicative of hearing loss. The only requirement is that the child can sit quietly for roughly ten minutes.
Pure tone audiometry
Headphones are used during this test, to present a child with sounds of different intensities and pitches. When the child hears a sound, they respond by completing an action, such as putting a block into a bucket or pressing a button. The assessment is game-based and allows us to determine the lower threshold of a child’s hearing.
Auditory Processing Disorder assessments
Auditory Processing allows us to make sense of conversations in a noisy room, enables us to follow a conversation when there are other distractions, and supports reading, spelling and auditory memory. Some children may pass traditional hearing tests, but still have difficulty with these specifics. This is because the ear can adequately detect the sound, but the brain has a hard time interpreting it correctly. In these cases, an APD evaluation will be completed.
The APD evaluation looks at what the brain does with the sound it receives from the ears. It helps differentiate an auditory processing disorder from auditory attention problems and comprehension difficulties.
The test is completed using two systems. In the first, the child will use over-ear headphones to complete a game-based evaluation on an iPad. In the second, the child is played sounds once again, and asked to either indicate how many sounds and words they hear, or repeat the sounds and words they hear. There are four main areas of study here, and the type of tests used depends on which we want to investigate – as well as the child’s age.
Dichotic Listening looks at the ability to either repeat everything we hear in both ears, even when each ear receives different sounds, or only repeat information heard in one ear, despite sounds being received in both.
Auditory Closure looks at our ability to repeat information – such as sounds, syllables or words – even when part of that information is missing. This may be due to background noise, or the sound being modified in ways we don’t typically experience.
Temporal Processing examines the ability to repeat sequences of tones. This contributes to distinguishing sounds in words and words in sentences.
Binaural Interaction assesses the ability to repeat information that is presented to each ear in sequence.
Assessment Costs
● Paediatric Screening (45 minutes) £45
● Paediatric Diagnostic Hearing assessment (90 minutes) £185
● Paediatric APD screening (90 minutes) £245 (The APD screening is test of your hearing to confirm that it is within normal limits and a questionnaire and preliminary screening tests to determine if APD may be a concern)
● Paediatric APD Assessment (2 hours) £695 – (This is a full, comprehensive assessment involving a battery of specialist tests to assess the integrity of the Central Auditory Nervous System and make recommendations for treatments and management strategies. Includes Full Diagnostic Hearing Assessment to check hearing ability)
● APD retest (60 minutes) included in treatment cost
Our experienced team of audiologists work alongside GPs, ENT, Paediatric Consultants, and Speech and Language Therapists offering the very best in diagnosis and rehabilitation.
Book today for our professional care tailored for young ears, call us on 01223 661 399.