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Hearing Care Services in the Tri-Cities

Our expert staff at Columbia Basin Hearing & Balance Center provides services to those from newborn to over a hundred years old. These include basic behavioral tests and sophisticated computerized otoneurological evaluations. When appropriate, the latest digital hearing aids may be utilized to help compensate for hearing loss. Hearing care services are offered at our office locations in Kennewick, Richland & Prosser.

• Audiological Evaluation

  Diagnostic Testing Information

  If a hearing loss is suspected, an appointment with one of our certified Audiologists should be made for the purposes of testing and evaluation. After the age of 50, a regular hearing test should be considered as important as one's yearly physical checkup. Testing is painless, comfortable and safe. Basically, it consists of answering questions about your hearing health, recognizing everyday words at different volume levels, and identifying different sounds. Your ability to hear each tone, or frequency, produces a unique hearing pattern which is recorded on an audiogram. The test is completed in a sound booth using earphones and bone conduction oscillator. The Audiologist then uses the audiogram to determine the type and severity of hearing loss. These tests should help determine whether a hearing loss is best treated medically or with hearing aids. This test is preformed in both of our office locations; please call us for any additional information.

  Video-otoscopy

  Laser camera allows both patient and examiner to visualize the status of the ear canal and eardrum.

  Cerumen Removal

  Too much ear wax can create a blockage that leads to temporary hearing loss. Our doctors of audiology will determine if cerumen removal needs to be performed, as well as the safest most comfortable methods of doing so. Cerumen removal methods include removal with currette or other looped device, irrigation, and suction. Patient safety is the utmost important aspect during this procedure.

• Hearing Aid Services

  Dispensing of Digital Hearing Aids

  We were the first practice in the Tri-Cities to dispense programmable hearing aids back in 1992 and remain at the forefront of the latest technological improvements. All patients undergo a comprehensive hearing exam prior to receiving hearing aids to determine the cause and extent of the loss. A detailed case history is also completed. Once a patient becomes a candidate for hearing aids based upon their hearing handicap all options are discussed with the patient including style of the hearing instrument and technology level required to meet their communication goals. The hearing aids are then programmed to match their unique hearing loss. At this point every patient undergoes comprehensive instruction on how to listen again. Emphasis is placed how the brain must relearn to focus on specific sounds that the individual wants to pay attention to and ignore irrelevant noises. All patients are also instructed on use and care of the hearing instruments and follow-up tests are performed to assure optimal programming of the aids.

  Hearing Aid Checks and Servicing

  The cornerstone of our customer service is the follow-up our patients receive once fit with hearing aids. Most patients initially require 3-4 office visits to understand how to once again listen and how to take care of their new hearing aids. Subsequent hearing aid adjustments or trouble shooting is always available at no charge for the life of the hearing instruments. In fact, all patients are scheduled for an annual hearing screenings to retest their natural hearing and clean, check and reprogram the hearing aids.

  Aural Rehabilitation

  If you are an adult, aural/audiologic rehabilitation services will focus on adjusting to your hearing loss, making the best use of your hearing aids, exploring assistive devices that might help, managing conversations, and taking charge of your communication. Services can be individual, in small groups, or a combination of both. Topics typically covered include the following:

  • Your hearing loss. It is important to understand your specific hearing loss. Sometimes it takes several discussions with your audiologist and with your family for things to "click." By better understanding your hearing loss, you will gain new insights into why you think people are mumbling, why you "hear" but cannot "understand," why you have difficulty with female voices, and the other questions you have been asking yourself for so long.
  • Your family's understanding of your hearing loss. Your family does not know how you hear. What they do know is that you do not hear well! They know they use lots of energy trying to communicate with you. Sometimes, the audiologist will play a recording that simulates your hearing loss so that your family can understand better what you are going through.
  • Your hearing aid. What will your hearing aid do and what will it not do? When you have realistic expectations, it is easier to adjust to your hearing aid. Also, your audiologist should review how to take care of your aid, how to troubleshoot problems, and answer any of your questions. So much information is given to you at the time of the hearing aid fitting that it is difficult to absorb everything. Also, as you use your aid, more questions will come to mind.

  Many audiologists take this opportunity to review different types of hearing aids and how they work. This helps you to understand why your kind of hearing aid was selected specifically for you.

  This review also helps family members understand that your hearing aid was a prescription for you. Often, well-meaning family members and friends keep bringing you ads for other kinds of hearing aids or talk about other friends who have "better" hearing aids because they do not understand that your hearing aid was chosen because it met the needs of your hearing loss and your common communication situations.

  • Learning to listen again. Even if you don't have hearing aids but have discovered that you have a hearing loss, aural rehabilitation services can give you strategies to improve listening and increase your communication effectiveness. If you do have new hearing aids or a cochlear implant, your world will be full of sounds you forgot existed. You will be moving from what has become a quiet world back to the normally noisy world in which we all live. Through training and practice, you will acquire new listening habits.
  • Assistive listening devices. A hearing aid won't wake you up when you are sleeping. A hearing aid may not help you in a theater. But, there are many other devices that can help, such as TV listening devices, personal FM systems to use in lectures, conference microphones, and telephone amplifiers. You can become acquainted with these devices and see how they can improve your social, family, and work life.
  • Using visual clues. Everyone uses their eyes to get clues about what people are saying, their mood, their interest in the topic of conversation, and so on. You probably are using your eyes even more to make up for what you cannot hear.

  Speechreading training provides formal instruction in how speech sounds are made, which sounds look alike on the lips. Learning which words have the same mouth movement but very different meaning can be incredibly useful in increasing understanding of conversations. You can also gain a great deal of helpful information from following other visual clues like facial expression, gestures, body movement, and body language. For example, if you are not sure what was said, facial expression may help you figure out whether the speaker said "I'm mad" or "I'm sad." Broader observation of factors like the physical environment, the context of the conversation, and the people involved is also helpful in gaining information about what was said or what might likely be said next.

  Audiologic rehabilitation provides the person with a hearing loss and his or her family with many listening strategies that can improve communication. Some of these are as follows:

  • Handling conversation. By learning to take charge of your communication assertively (not aggressively!), you can become a more effective communicator. There are may ways to be assertive. You can ask people to get your attention before speaking to you, suggest that they face you, and ask them not to shout. Another way to be assertive is to learn and use strategies for handling communication breakdowns. Know when to ask for a "rephrase" instead of a "repeat", know how to apply a clarification strategy, and learn how to ask questions.
  • Arrangement of your home. Now that you've learned more about your hearing loss, you may want to rearrange your furniture to promote easier conversation (and that full-face view mentioned above). You might wish to change lighting so you can better see your conversation partner's face. Perhaps carpeting can be strategically placed to absorb noise. Maybe there are alerting devices that can help you identify when the doorbell rings.
  • Dealing with background noise outside the home. In a noisy restaurant, for example, request a table further away from the kitchen and clattering dishes. Seat yourself directly in front of your dining companion so that you can maximize your understanding of conversation
    
    http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/treatment/adult_aur_rehab.htm

  Refer-a-Friend Program

  At Columbia Hearing & Balance Center, we are honored when our patients whom refer their loved ones to our facility. As a way of saying "Thank you" we offer rewards to those patient such as free batteries or discounts for themselves or their friends off of there next purchase of hearing aids.

• Aural Rehabilitation

  Aural Rehabilitation

  ENGAGE is an aural rehabilitation support group for new hearing aid users and significant others that presents additional counseling, information and strategies to enable patients to be more successful with new hearing aids. There will be three one hour meetings on various topics that will increase the likelihood of becoming successful and adapting to your new hearing technology. A half hour will be devoted to question/answer and group discussion. Topics include Hearing Loss and You, Effective Communication Strategies, Using (and Keeping!) what you Have, and Advocacy. Homework assignments regarding patient’s unique situations will be assigned and collected to graduate from the class. CBHBC will treat you and your significant other to dinner at the Tri-City Country Club for your graduation ceremony. Once graduated, patients are eligible to become “Friends of CBHBC” through which you will receive special offers and invitations to various patient appreciation events throughout the year. You have made the decision to invest in the best advanced digital technology but are you ready to take the next step? Ask your Doctor of Audiology about ENGAGE today!

• Focus Groups

  Focus Groups

  CBHBC is proud to host monthly focus groups open to anyone who suffers from the consequences of hearing loss. Different topics will be presented monthly and include but are not limited to: Hearing Loss and You, Effective Communication Strategies for You and Your Loved Ones, Dangerous Decibels, Using and Keeping What You Have, and Technology Alerts: New Changes in Digital Hearing Aids.
  
  These meetings are held monthly at the Tri-City Country Club. Please contact our office for more information about topics, times, and to enroll in our next group.

• Vestibular Evaluation

  Vestibular Evaluation

  Dizziness and loss of balance is the second most common complaint heard in doctors’ offices. The National Institute of Health Statistics indicates that dizziness will occur in 70% of the nations' population at sometime in their lives. The Doctors of Audiology have the knowledge and training necessary to assess vertigo patients to determine if there is inner ear pathology.

• Fall Risk Assessment

  Fall Risk Assessment and Prevention

  Although falls can cause injury at any age, they are most dangerous when they happen in the elderly as they are more susceptible to injury. Falls play a major role in mortality, mobility, and hospitalization in older individuals. With more than 40 million Americans over 65 years of age, we can see why this is an important issue for us as a society. Falls can result from numerous environmental factors as well as different anatomical systems responding inappropriately. At CBHBC, we use a Neurocom system to test Modified Clinical Tests of Sensory Interaction on Balance to assess fall risk. We also perform VNG testing to determine if a pathology in the inner ear is contributing to the imbalance or falling that the individual is experiencing. Once these tests have been complete, preventative plans are discussed with may include vestibular rehabilitation, balance re-training therapy, environmental strategies and or other methods to avoid future falls.

• Tinnitus Evaluation

  Tinnitus Evaluation and Treatment

  For patients suffering with tinnitus ("ringing in the ears") we offer several diagnostic tests and self-assessment surveys to determine the cause of the tinnitus and its psychological impact. Tinnitus evaluation determines probable origin, severity, and specific frequency range of the tinnitus i.e., "ringing ears." Treatment options are also recommended. Tests are performed to determine if the cause of the tinnitus is related to middle ear or inner ear problems as well as possible auditory nerve abnormalities. The tone or pitch of the tinnitus as well as its volume is also determined to help determine the best management option. These options may include dietary changes, medication review, masking devices, hearing aids, or Tinnitus Retraining therapy (TRT).

• Pediatric Evaluation

  Infant and Children Testing

  We are proud to be one of the certified sites in Washington for infant hearing evaluation. Utilizing state-of-the-art technology and a highly trained staff we offer newborn hearing screening and follow-up as needed. We work closely with local pediatricians to determine if a hearing loss in an infant is present and the extent and cause of the impairment. When needed we also provide hearing aid counseling and fitting and have fit children as young as 5 months of age.

• APD Evaluation

For more information on any of our Hearing Services, please contact us.

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