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Coming for an audiological evaluation
Sometimes parents worry about whether their observations will be listened to, and whether their child will “cooperate” for a hearing test. We have two sayings that apply. First, “The parent is the best audiologist.” Parents rarely are wrong in their hunches about their toddler’s hearing. Second, if the first test does not give a conclusive result because the child was tired or fearful or the audiologist was not creative enough in their approach, we say “the audiologist was unable to test the child” rather than “the child was unable to be tested.” It’s great when a mother has her toddler in her lap and the child does start to respond well to the listening games used for the test. The mother drops a quiet kiss of relief on the top of her child’s head during the test. Seeing that little kiss is like a reward sticker for the audiologist. Another is that look of team pride that a parent and older child share as they wait for the elevator as they are leaving after an audiological evaluation. They look as though they feel good about each other and are proud and confident in their joint ability to deal with the next step.
Marilyn Neault, PhD, CCC-A, Audiologist
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Listening well
We, as professionals, can only be helpful to families if we listen well to them. What we learn helps us help other families as they experience similar joys and problems. We particularly try to listen to their values and goals, and even their family style, as they navigate through the decisions they make. No decision is right for every child, and we hope that all choices are well presented to each family, so they make choices that are consonant with who they are as a family.
Betsy Kammerer, Ph.D., Psychologist
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Why I became an Audiologist
I was born with a hearing loss and needed a hearing aid all my life. I became an audiologist because of my mother. She instinctively knew I had a hearing loss, but the professionals never believed her. Fortunately, she kept pushing and pushing for a hearing test. I became an audiologist because I want to make it easier for parents when they come to professionals for help. I want them to know that I am going to listen to them and their worries. I usually do not tell anybody that I have a hearing loss. It is pretty noticeable if you are looking at my ears you will know that I have hearing aids. I usually wait for families to ask me questions about my hearing loss. I am more than happy to talk with them about it. I definitely can share a lot of my experiences growing up with hearing aids in terms of school, social, and emotional aspects. They can enjoy being able to ease parent’s minds and let them focus on raising a child and having fun with that rather than focusing on the hearing loss.
Jill Eckerly, Au.D., Audiologist
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I’ve been there…
Well, I definitely bring a lot of my own personal experience into my work. When I work with parents, I usually let them know within the first few visits that I am hard of hearing myself. I tell them I am very open to talking about my hearing loss, and that they can ask me any questions about my experiences.
Selena Steinmetz, M.A., Education Outreach Coordinator
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