Your Child's First Pediatric Audiology Clinic Visit

Your child’s first Audiology clinic appointment will take approximately one hour. Please arrive on time to ensure that we can perform a full evaluation and provide appropriate recommendations for follow-up. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late to the appointment, it may need to be rescheduled for the next available time.

What to expect during the appointment

We will tailor your child’s comprehensive hearing assessment to his or her individual needs. It may involve developmentally-appropriate behavioral and objective measures.

Behavioral Measures

Behavioral measures record your child’s actions in response to sound. We use behavioral measures to:

  • Determine the presence, type and degree of hearing loss
  • Assess your child’s ability to hear and understand speech information
Test What it measures How it is done
Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA)
Typically performed between the developmental ages of 6 months to 2 years*
 This test reliably measures your young child’s responsiveness to speech and tones.
 Sounds will be played through speakers and/or earphones. We will teach your child to respond to sound with a head turn. Then, we will reinforce the behavior with lighted/animated toys.
Conditioned Play Audiometry (CPA)
Typically performed between the developmental ages of 2-4 years*
 
 This test measures your child’s responsiveness to speech and different sounds. It also measures your child’s ability to understand age-appropriate words.
 Your child will listen to different sounds and speech and will be taught to perform a play task after hearing a sound.
Conventional Audiometry
Typically performed with children developmentally age 5 and older*

 This test evaluates your child’s hearing sensitivity for speech and tones. It also assesses your child’s ability to understand speech information in various situations.
 Your child will respond to sounds by pressing a button or raising his or her hand.

* Developmental age is a way to express your child’s ability to perform certain tasks and functions.

Objective Measures

Objective measures record how your child’s ear and/or brain respond to sound.

Test What it measures How it is done
Tympanometry and acoustic reflexes
 These tests help confirm or rule out problems with the ear drum and middle ear space.
 We will place a small earphone in your child’s ear canal. The earphone will measure ear drum movement in response to changes in air pressure.
Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs)
 This test assesses the function of the hair cells in the inner ear. It is used to screen for significant hearing loss in infants, and to monitor the effects of drugs that can damage hearing.
 We will ask your child to remain still and quiet for a few minutes. Sounds will be presented through a small earphone and a response from the inner ear is recorded.
Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) and Auditory Steady State Response (ASSR)
This test is typically utilized when a child is not developmentally ready or able to undergo behavioral testing or when additional information regarding the auditory system is needed.
 This test assesses electrical activity from the auditory nerve and the auditory pathway in the lower part of the brain. It determines the presence, type and degree of hearing loss. 
 This test is performed while your child is asleep or under general anesthesia, if necessary. Sound is presented to each ear and we measure the response.