970-493-5334

office@advancedotolaryngology.com
2001 South Shields

Fort Collins, CO 80526
Monday - Thursday: 8a - 5p

Friday: 8a - 4p

Services - Advanced Otolaryngology & Audiology
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Services

Otolaryngology/ENT Services

  • Facial plastic services
    • Laser skin rejuvenation
    • Rhinoplasty
    • Botox
    • Face and neck lift
    • Juviderm
    • Upper and lower eyelid surgery
    • Facial trauma (more info here)
  • Medical and surgical treatment of ear, nose, and throat conditions for pediatric and adult patients
  • Sinus and nasal surgery
  • Benign and malignant head and neck tumor management
  • Hearing and balance disorders

Audiology Services

Our audiologists hold the Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) Degree, the highest level of clinical education in their field. They work closely with both you and your doctor to diagnose and treat your condition.

We recognize that each patient is unique, and our team approach helps us create an individualized rehabilitation program that addresses your specific needs.

Frequently Asked Questions
Adults
Do you have a history of noisy jobs or hobbies? Have you experienced ringing in your ears (tinnitus), painful sensations, or dizziness? These may be early warning signs of hearing loss. An audiologist can help determine if you’ve experienced hearing loss and tell you what steps you can take to protect or improve your hearing.
Children
Healthy hearing is crucial for the very early years of a child’s life when speech and language skills are developing. If you have concerns about your child’s hearing or speech development, or if you have a family history of early onset hearing loss, your child’s hearing should be evaluated. Testing can be done at any age—even on newborns!
Should I get a Hearing Test?
Baseline hearing testing is recommended for all adults over 65 years old, even if hearing loss is not suspected. Those with known hearing loss should be tested regularly. The audiology staff will work closely with your primary care provider or otolaryngologist (ENT physician) to determine the appropriate intervals for audiologic monitoring.
Would a hearing aid work for me?
Hearing aids may help if you:
-Experience difficulty hearing
-Feel strain, stress, or fatigue when trying to listen
-Are able to hear but have difficulty understanding
-Feel your ability to hear isn’t adequate for your particular needs
-Notice that you often have to ask your friends and family to repeat themselves
-Think your hearing loss is affecting those around you
What are your hearing aid options?
Our audiology department offers a full range of hearing aid devices, but there is no “one size fits all” solution for everyone. That’s why we work individually with each patient to determine the appropriate combination of amplification devices, assistive listening devices, and communication strategies based on the type of hearing loss and your listening needs.

Hearing Evaluations

An audiogram measures how well a person hears. This is one of the first tests that we will perform when there are complaints of a hearing loss or other problems related to the ears. You will be sitting in a sound-treated booth and asked to respond to tones and speech to assess any loss of loudness and/or clarity of your hearing.

Other tests, such as tympanometry and acoustic reflexes, will also be performed to evaluate the status of the eardrum and middle ear space. This basic but comprehensive evaluation usually takes 20-30 minutes.

Electrophysiologic Tests and Retrocochlear Assessment

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) are an objective measure of the inner ear’s sensory cell function. A small earphone will be placed in your ear as you listen to varying tones. You will not need to respond as the evaluation is looking for an automatic response of the inner ear. This test usually lasts for a few minutes in each ear.

Electrocochleography (ECoG) assesses inner ear function to determine if cochlear hydrops are present. This is another evaluation in which you will not need to respond during the test. You will be lying down and listening to clicks, and the test may take anywhere from 30-45 minutes.

Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) is a useful clinical tool to help detect, localize and monitor auditory and neurotologic deficits as well as used to estimate hearing thresholds. Similar to the ECoG, you will be lying down and listening to clicks.

When testing an adult, we’re looking for site of lesion, and the test may take approximately 30 minutes. It is recommended not to consume alcohol or caffeine prior to the test.

If testing an infant, we are looking for responses to help us estimate thresholds, degree, and type of hearing loss; therefore, the test may last 2-3 hours. We will not sedate an infant if he/she is less than 6 months old. We ask that you bring a blanket, bottle, pacifier and extra diapers. We also recommend to have your infant fed just prior to the evaluation and try to keep him/her awake during the car ride to the appointment. You may also try to schedule your infant to be tested during his/her regular nap time. If your child is over 6 months of age, we will schedule for a sedated evaluation with a physician present in the clinic.

Auditory Steady State Responses (ASSR) is an evaluation used to obtain objective frequency specific auditory information quickly and effectively by assessing multiple frequencies at the same time for both ears. The intensity levels are much higher than an ABR; therefore, it is useful for evaluating severe-to-profound hearing loss in infants and young children. Because the recording still requires a quiet state from the patient, sedation may still be recommended for infants and young children.

Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (VEMP) is an electromyographic response evoked by sound to assess the function of the saccule, a portion of the inner ear. We perform these tests on patients suspected for superior canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS). At Advanced Otolaryngology, P.C., we record VEMPs in two ways: a cervical VEMP (cVEMP) and an ocular VEMP (oVEMP). In addition to lying on a table listening to clicks or tones, surface electrodes are placed on the forehead, neck, and eyes as you will be asked to either lift your head off of the table or roll your eyes upward for a few seconds to contract certain muscles in order to record the response. This test may usually last 30-45 minutes.

Bone-Anchored Hearing Aids (BAHA)

Bone-anchored hearing devices are used primarily for conductive hearing losses or single-sided deafness. They are also an option for improved hearing in patients with congenital ear malformations or chronic ear disease. A titanium fixture is implanted in the postauricular (behind the ear) area. An external sound processor is attached to the abutment, and a microphone picks up the sound, which then vibrates the bone in the skull by means of the fixture. The sound is transmitted directly to the inner ear on the side with conductive hearing loss or the better hearing ear in single-sided deafness.

  • Connect System
    • Cochlear Baha
    • Oticon Medical Ponto
  • Attract System
    • Cochlear Baha

Contact Us to Schedule a Consultation