Audiology-Hearing

Mountain Regional Ear, Nose and Throat, PA-Facial Plastic Surgery takes great pride in offering a complete array of services with regard to complete evaluation and treatment of hearing difficulties, as well as inner-ear related balance problems.

Disorders of balance may have many causes, and generally one's primary physician begins evaluation of these problems. If initial testing by your family physician does not locate a cause for a balance or dizziness disorder, Mountain Regional offers highly sophisticated testing in our office to try to pinpoint balance problems related to inner-ear  difficulties.

Disorders of hearing may be related to medically treatable conditions, such as fluid behind the eardrums or ear "plugging" due to wax buildup. Usually these conditions can be easily resolved here in our office.

Additionally, certain persons have hearing loss which may be significantly improved by a single outpatient surgical procedure relating to repair of damaged ear bones. Finally,  persons with gradual loss of hearing nerve "strength" can often be assisted dramatically by hearing amplification. Techniques which we offer for  assistance may range from simple FM devices which plug into the TV., to hearing aids.

While no one looks forward to using hearing aids, the good news is that  state- of- the- art aids use the latest digital technology in tiny units which are often essentially hidden in the ear canal when being used. Mountain Regional works with several manufacturers with many price and features options to find each person the best aid at the best price for his or her needs.

Exciting new developments in the hearing aid field include the inclusion of "Bluetooth" technology in some aids, allowing wireless connectivity to devices such as cell phones and video players. Most recently, a new type of hearing aid includes circuitry to decrease "tinnitus" or extraneous sounds (buzzing, ringing or chirping) experienced by many who have lost some of their hearing strength over time.

 Some Better Hearing links:

                     BHI : Better Hearing Institute    www.betterhearing.org

                    HLAA: Hearing Loss Association of America    www.hearingloss.org

                     Hearing Aid Tax Credit     www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org