Audiology & Hearing Aid Center Joliet, Morris and New Lenox, Illinois

Chicagoland’s premier Audiology and Hearing Aid Center. ENT Surgical Consultants is proud to serve our patients with outstanding, comprehensive, and state-of-the-art diagnostic audiology and hearing aids. Our Audiologists are here to provide comprehensive hearing evaluations and make recommendations if you have hearing loss that is not medically treatable. Please contact us today for your Hearing Evaluation (815) 531-3802.

Meet Our Audiologists

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Hearing Evaluation

A comprehensive hearing evaluation is done to determine if hearing loss is present, and if so, the type and degree of hearing loss. The evaluation includes a battery of tests that vary depending on the age of the patient. The evaluation may also include testing to evaluate the status of the middle ear.

Types of hearing loss

• Sensori-Neural Hearing loss - Involves the inner ear (cochlea) and/or the auditory nerve.
• Noise-Induced Hearing Loss - Exposure to loud sounds/noise can cause damage to the inner ear, resulting in tinnitus and/or hearing loss. Hearing loss from noise can be temporary or permanent depending on the circumstances. It can be caused by repeated exposure to noise or a one-time incident (such as an explosive sound). Use of appropriate ear protection (ear plugs and/or muffs) with a proper noise reduction rating (NNR) can help to prevent noise-induced hearing loss.
• Sudden Sensori-Neural Hearing Loss - Typically due to damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or neural pathways. Some causes of sudden sensori-neural hearing loss include head trauma, acoustic trauma (loud noise exposure), viral infection, and idiopathic etiology. Sudden hearing loss requires urgent treatment and should be evaluated as soon as possible.
• Conductive Hearing Loss - Involves the ear drum and/or middle ear.
• Mixed Hearing Loss - Is a combination of sensori-neural and conductive hearing loss

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Custom Ear Protection

Custom ear molds are available for protection from damaging noise or for keeping water out of the ears. Specialty custom molds are available for specific activities such as hunting, and for protection against loud music.

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Assistive Listening Devices

Assistive listening devices may be used in conjunction with your hearing aids or as a stand-alone unit to help amplify specific sounds. Amplified telephones, infra-red TV amplifiers, and amplified alarm clocks, door bells, and smoke detectors are some examples of assistive listening devices.

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Communication tips for family and friends

• Speak naturally and distinctly
• Do not speak too fast or too loudly
• Don't chew or cover your mouth when speaking
• Talk face to face. It is difficult to hear when someone speaks from a different room or when the voice is being projected away from the listener.
• Eliminate distracting noise, such as the TV or radio whenever possible.
• If you are misunderstood, rephrasing your comment rather than repeating it may be helpful.

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Links

Better Hearing Institute www.betterhearing.org
Hearing Loss Association of America (formerly Self Help for Hard of Hearing People) www.shhh.org
Alexander Graham Bell Association www.agbell.org
American Tinnitus Association www.ata.org
National Hearing Conservation Association www.hearingconservation.org
American Academy of Audiology www.audiology.org
Illinois Academy of Audiology www.ilaudiology.org
American Speech-Language and Hearing Association www.asha.org
National Institute of Health www.nih.gov
Illinois Telecommunications Access Corporation www.itactty.org