Audiology and Hearing Aids

About 36 million people in the United States are estimated to have hearing loss. Although it is often associated with aging, it is also clearly present in newborns, children, teenagers, young adults and adults. Healthy human ears can perceive an enormous range of sounds in terms of pitch and loudness. Hearing is the primary sense through which we learn speech and language. The ability to hear clearly from birth is extremely important with regard to normal development of speech and language skills, auditory processing skills, a sense of self, as well as normal emotional and psychological well-being and more.

Tinnitus is the perception of a sound that has no external source. Some of the more common sounds reported are: ringing, humming, buzzing, and cricket-like chirps. It may often occur with hearing loss.

Most hearing loss can be helped through medication, surgery or amplification. An ear hearing test or hearing evaluation is key to maintaining effective communication, ear and balance health and overall well-being. Our audiologists and hearing specialists can administer a variety of hearing tests to measure hearing for frequency-specific tones and speech. Hearing tests are available for people of all ages. Various techniques may be used in this process depending on the age of the patient and their response to the testing. By using highly-calibrated state-of-the-art equipment, our audiologists are able to determine the type and severity of a person’s hearing loss.

If you’re looking for hearing aids in and around Charlotte, NC, look no further than Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat Associates, P.A. (CEENTA). Since 1984, our audiology department has helped hearing-impaired patients regain their hearing. Whether it’s a conventional, programmable, or digital hearing aid, our audiologists and hearing instrument specialists will work with you to find what best suits your lifestyle. In addition to being a source for Charlotte hearing aids, our audiology departments also offer a variety of bone-anchored hearing systems, implantable and non-implantable, cochlear implants, a range of accessories and assistive listening devices and hearing aid batteries.

Through the cochlear implant, the gift of hearing has been given to over three hundred severely to profoundly hearing-impaired patients at Charlotte Eye Ear Nose and Throat Associates, P.A. (CEENTA). The cochlear implant is a device that provides electrical stimulation to the cochlea, which results in the perception of hearing. The CEENTA cochlear implant team has extensive training and experience in the implantation and programming of cochlear implants. This team has seen cochlear implants develop into a viable option for the severely and profoundly hearing-impaired through technological advances in both the external and internal device. The cochlear implant differs significantly from a hearing aid in that it bypasses the damaged end organ of hearing allowing for stimulation of the remaining nerve fibers, which results in hearing.

Infants hear and listen from the moment of birth. Because children learn to speak by listening to and imitating the sounds they hear, good hearing is essential for your baby to learn to talk. Evaluations and hearing tests for children can be performed at any age. There are many sophisticated tests that can determine the level of your child’s hearing. These tests include visual conditioned response audiometry (VCRA) tests and conditioned play audiometry. If needed, our audiologists may recommend hearing aids for your child.

Patients with chronic balance problems and dizziness can experience a tremendous handicap in their everyday lives. Normal daily activities are often avoided for fear of bringing on an attack of their symptoms, which can include disorientation, lack of balance, light-headedness, swaying, or, in the case of vertigo, a spinning sensation that can be accompanied by nausea. While dizziness and balance disorders can afflict anyone, they are common in older patients.

Auditory-verbal therapy can be provided for pediatric patients receiving hearing aids or a cochlear implant in addition to aural rehabilitation for patients with single-sided deafness and adults.