Patient appointments:
304-598-4825
or 800-842-3627
Hours: Monday — Friday, 8am — 5pm
Otolaryngology (ENT)
Physician Office Center
1 Medical Center Drive
Morgantown, WV 26506
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Hearing Testing | Hearing Rehabilitation | Speech Pathology
Much progress has been made recently to help those who suffer with the isolating effects of hearing loss. New technologies, such as the cochlear implant, give the deaf—even those who may not have had hearing from birth—the opportunity to enjoy the everyday sounds of life.
Similarly, trouble speaking clearly can prevent a person from fully communicating with family and friends.
Our licensed and certified audiologists and speech/language pathologists work with other WVU doctors to provide the highest quality patient care. With our help, you can achieve a level of communicating that will enrich your life to the fullest.
Neonatal Hearing Screening
Infants need screening for hearing loss so that corrective measures, such as hearing aids, can be started during early speech and language development. Current technologies make it possible for newborn babies to be tested.
It is especially important to test infants who have the following high-risk factors for hearing loss:
Educating parents and primary care doctors is important for early identification and treatment of infants with severe hearing loss.
Diagnostic Hearing Tests
Suspected hearing loss should be diagnosed by both a doctor and an audiologist. In addition to physically examining the ear, we use hearing tests to determine the type and extent of hearing loss.
These hearing tests may include:
If you come to us with a hearing problem, our doctors may perform other tests, depending on your age and the problem. Once we determine the type and severity of hearing loss, we can begin treatment. Hearing aids and other amplifying devices can improve hearing for most people who have a hearing loss.
Central Auditory Processing Tests
A child who has difficulty processing sound has difficulty understanding speech when distractions such as classroom noise are present, even if hearing is normal. We offer evaluation, counseling, and other intervention approaches to help the child cope with the problem.
Otoacoustic Emissions Testing
Our audiologists perform otoacoustic emissions testing (OAE), a relatively new clinical tool for assessing hearing loss. OAEs are low-intensity sounds produced by the inner ear that can be detected by a sensitive microphone placed in the ear canal.
If you think you have hearing loss, you should be evaluated by both a doctor and an audiologist.
Hearing aids help most people who have trouble hearing. Assistive listening devices (ALD) may help those who have a fairly severe hearing loss. For people with hearing loss that is so severe that hearing aids or ALDs are not helpful, a cochlear implant may improve their ability to hear. If you come to our clinic for help with hearing loss, you will receive counseling and learn strategies that will help maximize your ability to hear.
Hearing Aids
A hearing aid is a miniature amplifier that helps someone to hear better. If you come to us for an evaluation, our audiologists will measure your understanding of speech and your hearing at different pitches.
The style of hearing aid that you might need depends upon the pattern and severity of your hearing loss. The basic styles of hearing aids include:
Assistive Listening Devices
People with a significant hearing loss may benefit from using assistive listening devices (ALD). ALDs amplify sounds for specific needs of a hearing-impaired person in various situations, such as telephoning, understanding TV, and in classrooms.
Since interference from environmental noise is minimized by placing a microphone at the sound’s source, ALDs are ideal for communicating in noisy places. Target sounds are delivered to the ears with good quality and clarity.
Cochlear Implants
A cochlear implant provides hearing to adults and children who have profound hearing loss in both ears and who have little or no ability to understand speech, even with powerful hearing aids.
The cochlear implant works by stimulating nerves in the inner ear. Virtually all patients who receive cochlear implants are able to hear sounds at a much lower volume than before surgery.
If you want to explore receiving a cochlear implant, call the WVU Physician Office Center to schedule a consultation. During your consultation, you will learn about how the cochlear implant works and what the surgery entails.
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy
Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) is a process where we help you retrain your brain to ignore the sound of your tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and to achieve a level in which you are not aware of and/or annoyed by it. This approach is not a quick fix or a cure, and it does not involve drugs or surgery. Also, it does not work for everyone, but it has resulted in significant improvement for most people who are looking for help.
You should plan to spend approximately 2 hours with us during your initial appointment. Our clinic procedure is a team effort, so you will be seen by more than 1 healthcare professional during this visit.
Pediatric Speech-Language-Communication Evaluation and Therapy
For children with speech, language, and communication problems, the earlier that speech therapy begins, the better the outcome.
Certain conditions are known to cause speech and language disorders, and they may be obvious at birth or in early infancy. These conditions include Down syndrome, cleft palate, and cerebral palsy.
Children's communication problems may also mean they have other developmental disorders, such as autism. A pediatrician will probably be the first doctor to come in contact with and evaluate a child with speech problems.
The Speech-Language Clinic in the Physician Office Center provides evaluations and outpatient therapy. Therapy is typically scheduled for 30- to 60-minute sessions twice a week.
Our speech/language pathologists (SLPs) send activities home with parents to do with their child. SLPs also work with a child’s teachers or other caregivers. Parents or caregivers go with their child to each therapy session and can watch the session via two-way mirrors.
Laryngectomy Rehabilitation
If you have been diagnosed with cancer of the voice box and must have a laryngectomy, you will be seen by a speech/language pathologist for counseling before surgery. Family members are also encouraged to attend. The pathologist will review the changes that will occur during your surgery and discuss options for communicating after the surgery.
Speech therapy begins several days after surgery. You will be provided with an electrolarynx and taught how to use it. You also will be given instructions about post-operative care and about changes to your senses and abilities, such as smelling, tasting, and swallowing.
A tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) is a surgical technique that directs air from the lungs up through the esophagus, allowing you to produce sound and, ultimately, speech. A TEP can be done at the time of the cancer surgery or several months later.
Once the site is healed, a speech pathologist fits your prosthetic device, works with you to achieve good voicing, and trains you how to take care of the device.
Closed Head Injury
Communication skills often change after a person suffers a closed head injury. Common difficulties can include:
The Speech Clinic at the Physician Office Center offers speech/language therapy to patients while they are hospitalized and also as out-patients after they go home. Family members are included to encourage use of newly learned skills in everyday situations.
Voice Clinic
We use our voices every day and take them for granted as our means of communicating. However, voicing is a highly coordinated activity. Typical complaints about voices include a hoarse or raspy voice or a change in vocal quality.
Common problems that may affect your voice include:
A thorough evaluation is important to learn what the problem is and what to do about it.
If you have voice problems, you will be evaluated using a technique that allows us to see detail and subtle movements of the vocal cords that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
The examination is videotaped and reviewed later by you and your physician. This video provides visual feedback, helping you to understand your vocal cord problem, plus it can help you stick with your treatment plan.
Together, you, your doctor, and your speech/language pathologist work to obtain your best possible voice quality.
Swallowing Difficulty (Dysphagia)
Difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia) for adults is primarily the result of mechanical, muscle, or nerve disorders. Mechanical disorders are most often associated with surgery for cancer. Muscle and nerve disorders may include:
Dysphagia also occurs in children and infants.
Spasmodic Dysphonia
Spasmodic dysphonia is a voice disorder characterized by a strained and strangled-sounding voice.
Along with speech therapy, the treatment for spasmodic dysphonia used today is botulinum toxin injected into the vocal cords. This therapy provides temporary relief and lessens the strained voice quality. Most people require repeat injections every 3 to 6 months.