Audiology

Referrals for audiological testing for children age 5 or younger may be obtained by a parent, any other individual or agency, by calling (503) 540-5330 or 1-888-560-4666 to make a request for a hearing evaluation.

Referrals for testing children in kindergarten and older must come from the local school district. 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:

Willamette ESD Marion Center
2611 Pringle Rd. SE
Salem, OR 97302

Willamette ESD McMinnville Site
2045 SW Highway 18
McMinnville, OR 97128

Mobile Testing Van
Our mobile hearing testing van has the ability for soundproof testing. The van travels 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.

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?

Oregon Newborn Hearing Screening Program