Willamette ESD Special Programs

Audiological testing for a child under the age of 5 years, may be requested by a parent, any other individual or agency, by calling (503) 588-5330 or 1-888-560-4666 to make a request for a hearing evaluation. If parents, or any other referring party, have a concern about a student’s hearing, they may contact the school’s Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP), or the school’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) Manager. The student’s hearing will need to be screened by the SLP. A child may then be referred to Willamette ESD for an audiological evaluation following two failed screenings.

Audiological testing includes the following

Hearing evaluation, which may include the following: standard audiometry, visual reinforcement audiometry, conditioned play audiometry, speech audiometry and tympanometry
Otoacoustic emissions (OAE)
Hearing aid evaluation with state of the art hearing aid technology,
Electroacoustic analysis of hearing aids
Earmold impressions
Fitting, monitoring and repair of hearing aids, earmolds and FM devices
Cochlear implant troubleshooting
Assistive technology including personal, desktop, soundfield and looped FM systems
Consultation with parents and teachers regarding hearing loss, educational and audiological needs of the child
Loaner bank of hearing aids and assistive listening devices

Referral for evaluation does not imply automatic eligibility. Each child’s audiological and developmental or academic needs will be evaluated by the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) team (for early intervention age children) or the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team (for school age children) to determine need for special education services from the Willamette ESD Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Specialist.

Audiology services are available at the Willamette ESD Salem site, 2611 Pringle Rd. SE, Salem, or in our mobile hearing testing van which has the ability for soundproof testing. The van does travel to schools within the three county radius for testing of eligible students.

Cost

There is no fee for the hearing evaluation or consultation. Parents are responsible for the cost of hearing aids, earmolds and hearing aid repairs. Alternate funding is sometimes available.
Referrals for audiological testing for children age 5 and younger may be made by a parent, physician, or other community agency. Referral for testing for children KG and older must come from the local school district.

Staff Qualifications

Our staff audiologists have experience and training in

Specialized testing for infants and difficult to test children (OAE, tympanometry, visually reinforced audiometry, etc.)
Hearing aid fitting and programming (digital, programmable, analog)
Cochlear implant support
Consultation regarding FM and assistive listening systems
Auditory training consultation

Our audiologists are licensed by the Oregon State Board of Examiners in Audiology, licensed Hearing Aid Specialists with the State of Oregon and Fellows in the American Academy of Audiology. Our audiologists have years of experience working with infants, toddlers, school-age students and students with multiple disabilities

What is an audiogram? What does it mean and what does my baby hear?
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program
Oregon Newborn Hearing Screening Program