Piedmont Ear, Nose & Throat Associates (PENTA) provides comprehensive hearing health care services at all four of our locations. Our caring, professional staff is available to provide a full range of diagnostic testing and state-of-the-art hearing aid services. Together with our board-certified otolaryngologists (ear, nose and throat physicians), PENTA’s staff of licensed audiologists is dedicated to provide clinical excellence and unsurpassed customer service.

What is an audiologist?

An audiolgist is a professional who has received a Master's or Doctoral degree from an accredited university graduate program. This means your services are being provided by a professional who has between six and eight years of college education with two to four of those years spent exclusively in the areas of ear and hearing disorders. The physician-audiologist team is trained to diagnose, manage and treat hearing or balance problems for individuals from birth through adulthood. If a patient's hearing problem is non-medical in nature, the audiologist will prescribe a treatment plan that incorporates a hearing aid or other assistive devices. There are no other professionals better trained or able to serve your hearing needs.

Diagnostic Services

PENTA provides a full range of diagnostic services. Below is a list of the most common diagnostic tests.

• Comprehensive audiogram – identifies the type and degree of hearing loss.
• Tympanogram – evaluates how well the ear drum is moving; often recommended in children with chronic ear infections or fluid behind the ear.
• Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) – determines the health of the hearing nerve; often recommended if one ear has better hearing than the other or for ringing in the ears (tinnitus).
• Electronystagmography (ENG) – assesses dizziness and balance disorders.
• Electroneuronography (ENOG) – assesses the facial nerve function in cases of facial nerve paralysis or Bell’s Palsy.
• Electrocochleography (ECOG) – similar to the ABR but looks at a different part of the hearing nerve; used in the diagnosis of Meniere’s Disease.

Hearing Loss

Nearly 30 million Americans have impaired hearing - that's one in ten of the general population and one in three persons over the age of 60. Medical devices such as hearing aids and rehabilitation can substantially reduce hearing loss in the vast majority of patients.

Physicians classify hearing loss as either "conductive" or "sensorineural." A hearing loss is conductive when there is a problem with the ear canal, the eardrum and/or the middle ear including the three bones connected to the eardrum. Common reasons for this type of hearing loss are a plug of excess wax in the ear canal or fluid behind the eardrum. Medical treatment or surgery may be available for these and more complex forms of conductive hearing loss.

A hearing loss is sensorineural when it results from damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerve, often as a result of the aging process and/or noise exposure. Sounds may be unclear and/or too soft. Sensitivity to loud sounds may occur. Medical or surgical intervention cannot correct most sensorineural hearing losses. However, hearing aids may help you reclaim some sounds that you are missing as a result of nerve deafness.

A mixed hearing loss is a combination of both conductive and sensorineural type hearing problems.

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How do you know if you have a hearing loss?

Many people have a hard time believing or accepting that they have a hearing loss. Part of the reason may be that hearing loss is associated with age. Most people don’t want to appear older than they feel. But one need not be old to experience hearing loss. Because of machine noise, loud music, or other by-products of our noisy age, a growing number of people are experiencing hearing loss at younger ages.

Hearing loss occurs gradually, and it’s not always easy to determine if you’re experiencing it. Often, people discover their hearing loss from the reactions of others – often family members. The following questions may help you decide whether you should have your hearing checked:

1. Do you turn up the TV or radio is louder than other family members prefer?
   
2. Do you have difficulty understanding speech in a background of noise, for instance in restaurants?
   
3. Do you have more difficulty understanding children and women than men?
   
4. Do you experience difficulty hearing in meetings or any group situation?
   
5. Do you have problems hearing at public speaking events or church?
   
6. Do you have ringing in your ears?

What should you do if you suspect you have a hearing loss?

Because some hearing problems can be medically corrected, first visit a physician who can refer you to an otolaryngologist (an ear, nose and throat doctor). If you have ear pain, drainage, excess earwax, hearing loss in only one ear, sudden or rapidly progressive hearing loss, or dizziness, it is especially important that you see an otolaryngologist. As part of the otolaryngologist's medical evaluation, s/he may recommend a hearing assessment by an audiologist. Piedmont Ear, Nose & Throat Associates (PENTA) employs a staff of experienced audiologists who will assess your ability to hear pure tone sounds and understand words. The results of these tests will show the degree of hearing loss and whether it is conductive or sensorineural and may give other medical information about your ears and your health.
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Hearing Aid Evaluation/Consultation

Once a hearing loss has been identified and all medical concerns have been addressed, you may be seen for a consultation to determine what, if any help is required. Each patient is singularly important, and the PENTA staff is committed to your long-term hearing health care. We strongly believe at PENTA that improved hearing enhances the quality of life at any age, whether it is at home, work, or in social situations such as family gatherings or church. Developing a personalized strategy between the patient and the audiology/medical team makes PENTA special. Educating patients on hearing problems and solutions, plus listening to each patient's needs and concerns, allows us to choose the best possible course of action - including the use of amplification.

Hearing instruments are changing radically and continuously. At Piedmont Ear, Nose & Throat Associates (PENTA), our audiologists view their role as being the patient advocate - helping you sort through the various technological and stylistic options currently available, to find the hearing solution best suited to your specific hearing loss and lifestyle needs. Our audiologists also work with the patient to help make the hearing aid pleasing to wear and financially feasible. PENTA offers a wide variety of styles and brands of hearing aids from which to choose - from the disposable Songbird aid to high-tech digital instruments.

All hearing aids at PENTA are fitted on a 30-day trial basis - regardless of whether you are a first-time user or an experienced wearer upgrading to more advanced technology. We believe allowing you to experience hearing aids in your own home and personal environment helps you to determine what is best for you. If for any reason you choose not to keep the hearing instrument during the trial period, it can be returned to the factory for credit - only a nominal fitting fee is charged. Our professional team of audiologists continually works with you so you can receive maximum benefits from your hearing aids and are properly instructed on the correct use and care of your devices.

A Simple Hearing Assessment

Most hearing losses occur gradually over the years, therefore, it is often difficult to recognize. Try this simple self-assessment of your hearing status. If you answer yes to one or more of the following statements, you should consider scheduling an appointment with an audiologist because you may have a problem with your hearing.

	yes	no
I use “huh” or “what” more than before.
I ask people to repeat themselves.
I need the radio or TV louder than other family members.
I avoid participating in groups because I don’t hear well.
I avoid speaking to strangers because I don’t hear well.
I watch TV less often because I can’t hear well.
I have difficulty understanding some people on the phone.
I try to avoid small talk at family gatherings.
I have trouble understanding people in noisy restaurants.
I find it necessary to watch people with whom I am speaking.
I am bothered by loud sounds.
I have arguments with family members because of my hearing.
I can hear but can’t understand what people are saying.
I have trouble with unexpected speech or rapid speech.
I complain that people do not talk clearly anymore.
I miss the punch line of jokes or key words in sentences.
I have trouble understanding the speaker in church or meetings.
I cannot easily locate the direction that sound is coming from.
I have ringing or other sounds in my ears.

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