Audiology

Hearing care to suit your needs

Audiology services deliver flexible, convenient and COVID-safe hearing care for our community.

Barwon Health Diagnostic Audiology Services

What is audiology?

Audiology at Barwon Health North is a service focusing on hearing and ear health assessment for children aged 0 to 6 years. Our audiologists aim to make your child’s hearing assessment a fun a positive experience. A hearing assessment at Barwon Health North will take about 30-45 minutes depending on your child’s needs.

Your child may be attending our clinic for one of many reasons including:

• You are concerned they are not hearing well.
• You have concerns about your child’s speech or other developmental areas.
• A General Practitioner (GP), paediatrician or ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist recommended a hearing test.
• There are concerns with behavioural issues at home/school, which may be linked to hearing.
• Complications during pregnancy and birth can be risk factors for hearing loss.

What do audiologists do?

Audiologists will look in your child’s ear to make sure it is clear. They will also test ear health using an earplug to see if the ear drums are moving well. The audiologist will then perform a hearing test using puppets, toys or games to make the test

What will happen if a hearing problem is found?

If a hearing or ear health problem is found, your audiologist can:

• Recommend strategies to assist with the hearing issue.
• Write a report to your doctor or specialist.
• Arrange referrals for other developmental checks such as speech pathology.
• Write a letter to a child’s teacher, with advice on how to assist with hearing loss.
• Arrange a recheck of their hearing in three months’ time.

To prepare for a hearing assessment at Barwon Health North, let your child know they will be playing fun listening games. You may wish to practice wearing headphones for children three years and over.

Keep in mind that we will be testing in a sound treated room. If you have any other children with you, it may be best to leave them at home.

Referrals to audiology can be made by completing the audiology referral form and emailing it to [email protected].

📥 Download a standard referral form here; or Infant ABR referral form here.