Audiology (Hearing/Inner Ear)

Roughly 20 percent of all people who need hearing aids actually get them. Many people don’t realize that hearing loss can be effectively treated with hearing aids. Untreated hearing loss causes social stress, tension and fatigue for the person with hearing loss as well as for family members, friends and coworkers. Successful hearing-aid users are those who are motivated to improve their communication by improving their hearing and who are willing to work with their audiologist to learn what they can expect from hearing aids.

How the Hearing Aid Clinic Works

After you have had an audiometric evaluation qualifying you as a hearing aid candidate, your audiologist will work with you to determine which style of hearing aid would work the best. You and your audiologist will discuss your typical communication activities: at home with family, at work, in social activities and in leisure. You are a very important partner in this discussion. Your input will help to decide the type and style of hearing aid recommended as well as what level of technology you will require. Once you have selected device(s) you will be fitted with the hearing aids and receive all of your follow-up care and support through the UK Audiology Clinic.

Hearing Aid Options

At UK Audiology, we work with major manufacturers to select devices catered to your listening needs. These include daily wear behind-the-ear hearing aids, in-the-ear hearing aids as well as extended-wear Lyric© devices, which can be worn 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Getting Started

If you or a loved one is interested in improving your communication through better hearing, please contact our office at 859-218-2177 or audiology@uky.edu. We will be happy to answer your questions and schedule your appointment.

UK Audiology employs doctoral and master’s level audiologists to diagnose and treat hearing and balance disorders. Our audiologists are experts in adult and pediatric diagnostic evaluations. Our audiometric services include:

• Comprehensive hearing evaluations
• Tympanometry
• Otoacoustic emissions
• Auditory brainstem response (ABR) evaluations
• Middle and late potentials
• Electroneuronography (ENoG) testing

People of all ages and backgrounds are affected by balance disorders. For those patients, problems with their equilibrium can affect their independence and increase their susceptibility to falls among other things. UK Audiology offers state-of-the-art equipment and highly educated professionals to diagnose balance disorders. Our audiologists work closely with our ENT physicians to develop a treatment plan individualized for our patients. Our services include:

• Videonystagmography (VNG)
• Dix-Hallpike testing
• Vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) testing

The UK HealthCare Cochlear Implant (CI) Program was established in the late 1980s and is the largest CI program in Kentucky. Our multidisciplinary team is devoted to providing personalized compassionate patient-centered care. We seek to improve the communication abilities of our pediatric and adult patients and thereby enhance the quality of their lives. The UK HealthCare team of board-certified neurotologists and audiologists combines evidence-based practice with cutting-edge technology to provide unsurpassed care. This cochlear implant team can provide high-quality aural rehabilitation and speech therapy throughout all of Kentucky thanks to close collaborations with premier hearing institutes such as the Lexington Hearing & Speech Center and the Heuser Hearing Institute. Our team is actively engaged in high-impact research to advance the field of hearing sciences. Specifically, the UK CI team is developing methods to improve access to specialized care and bridging gaps to hearing health care for all patients.

An auditory processing disorder, or APD, occurs when children, adolescents or adults have trouble processing what they hear despite having normal hearing sensitivity. In simple terms, this means that hearing is normal, but the brain cannot process what it hears efficiently.

Because APD may affect different areas, it’s important that a multidisciplinary team approach be used to holistically evaluate and treat patients. At the University of Kentucky, our team includes an audiologist, speech-language pathologist and psychologist. Each patient who asks about an APD evaluation will have their information reviewed by a member of the APD team to determine eligibility for APD testing. If the patient is determined to be a candidate, they will be contacted for an evaluation in our clinic.

Treatment of APD is highly individualized to each patient. Treatment of APD generally focuses on three primary areas: environmental change, compensatory strategies and direct treatment. Not only is the treatment itself individualized, but the frequency of treatment may vary from patient to patient as well. We will work with the patient, the patient’s family and the patient’s school system to create a treatment program that uniquely addresses the patient’s deficits.

Tinnitus is the medical term for the perception of sound in the ears or the head when no external sound is present. Tinnitus has two pronunciations: tin-NIGHT-us or TIN-it-us. It is often referred to as "ringing in the ears." Some people report hearing hissing, roaring, whistling, chirping or clicking. In the U.S., 50 million people experience tinnitus to some degree. And approximately 10 to 15 percent of adults have prolonged tinnitus requiring medical attention. For most people, tinnitus is a mild annoyance and may be temporary. However, more than 2 million American adults (1 to 2 percent of the population), experience severe, chronic tinnitus.

Our tinnitus treatment program begins with a comprehensive evaluation by both our audiologists and neurotologist. Following the evaluation, appropriate recommendations are tailored to the patient’s individual needs.