Pediatric Hearing Evaluations

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. If you are concerned about your child’s hearing, contact our Audiology Department at 704-295-3300.

Visual Conditioned Response Audiometry (VRA Test)

VRA is a hearing test for children that is used from a few months of age up to approximately three years old. The child is seated at an angle to a speaker and animated toy. One of our audiologists will monitor the child for either a conditioned response or other reactions to a variety of test sounds. The patient’s response levels are then adjusted for their age and the hearing level is estimated.

Pediatric Hearing Aids for Children

After conducting the hearing tests, our audiologists may recommend hearing aids for your child, if necessary. Often these hearing aids will include ear molds so that children may continue to use them as they grow.  Follow-up appointments may be scheduled so that our audiologists may continue to monitor your child’s hearing loss.

An otolaryngologist that specializes in child hearing problems may also see your child to determine if the problem may be fixed through medical or surgical treatment, such as ear tubes surgery.