Understanding hearing loss is important, including learning the options that are available to help with hearing loss. Most patients who have Microtia and Atresia have some degree of hearing loss. When someone has Atresia, the ear canal is either closed or absent, causing a problem for sound waves to be conducted from the outer ear, to the ear drum, or to the middle ear. This type of hearing loss is called a conductive hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss usually involves a reduction in sound level or the ability to hear faint sounds. Conductive hearing loss can often be corrected medically or surgically (ASHA). In most cases, the cochlea still functions and the auditory nerve is intact for a patient who has Microtia and Atresia. Some patients who have Microtia and Atresia may also have additional types of hearing loss such as a “mixed” hearing loss. A mixed hearing loss is a hearing loss that is both conductive and sensorineural. A mixed hearing loss may require the use of two different types of hearing devices.
The Pediatric Audiology Program at the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center provides comprehensive testing, treatment and support services for children of all ages who have hearing loss. Through the Microtia and Atresia Clinic, Audiologists, Dr. Margaret McRedmond and Dr. Brandy Stephens, can offer the latest options in treatment for conductive hearing loss in patients who have Microtia and Atresia.
Hearing Testing
There are a number of risk factors for hearing loss in children, so there are a number of reasons why a child’s hearing may need to be screened or tested. Common reasons to schedule a hearing evaluation for your child include speech delay, frequent or recurrent ear infections, family history of hearing loss, or diagnosis of a learning disability or other learning disorder. In addition, some diseases, syndromes and medications can cause hearing loss.
Testing options include:
- Newborn hearing screenings and infant evaluations
- Behavioral and play testing
- Pure tone audiometry
- Balance and vestibular testing
- Tympanometry
Hearing aids and other technology
For children newly identified with hearing loss, our goal is to maximize every child’s hearing potential. Dr. McRedmond and Dr. Stephens have expertise in digital hearing aids, cochlear implants, FM Systems, BAHA, and other assistive listening devices. Our audiologists work closely with the families in selecting the most appropriate technologies to meet their child’s listening needs.
Providing amplification for a child with hearing loss is important for learning and development. Children learn every day and they require auditory information in that process. Providing auditory information, through amplification, will greatly improve their ability in many areas of their lives. The following are a few specific examples of the benefits of amplification:
- Better hearing allows improved acquisition of speech and language skills.
- Children are better equipped to learn social relationships
- Hearing aids provide improved ability to detect from where sound is coming
- Improved hearing fosters improvements in school performance.
Treatment
Early intervention means starting a specialized program to help your child right away. A child’s brain is programmed to learn language during the first six years of life−the first three years being the most critical. After this period, it is very difficult to learn language and speech. We provide counseling on communication and educational options and understand the unique needs of the adolescent population. Treatment options include:
- Speech-language therapy for children using all types of communication (listening and spoken language, total communication, sign language, or cued speech)
- Parent-infant training for families using spoken language
- A toddler program and the Mama Lere Hearing School for preschooolers learning spoken language
- Educational transitioning and social work services
- Family support groups and self-advocacy training
- Intervention for children with auditory processing disorder
- Dual language services for children with hearing loss who are learning English as a second language
- Teletherapy with families and schools
When considering having a hearing device implanted, Dr. Marc Bennett is specialized at implanting bone anchored hearing devices and Cochlear Implants.
Dr. McRedmond joined the Vanderbilt Medical Center audiology staff in 2007 where she now serves as an assistant director for the pediatric program. Patients who have microtia/atresia has been an area of focus for Dr. McRedmond throughout her career. Dr. McRedmond is a native Nashvillian and the proud mother to two young children, Grey and Kate.
Dr. Stephens began working as a pediatric audiologist at Vanderbilt Medical Center in 2015. Her clinical focus is in pediatric diagnostics, hearing aids, and bone anchored implant devices. Dr. Stephens is from the Pacific Northwest and currently lives in Nashville with her husband and two dogs.
Dr. Marc Bennett believes that hearing is one of the pillars of communication, which in turn allows proper interaction between individuals and therefore society. That is why his research endeavors focus on endoscopic ear surgery and hearing loss, providing options in order to improve auditory outcomes of patients with ear canal atresia. Dr. Bennett performs canalplasty/aural atresia repair and implants hearing devices.
To make an appointment, e-mail us at: MicrotiaAtresiaClinic@VUMC.org or call ph: 615-343-6166.