Audiology & Hearing Aides
Get the most comprehensive care possible with the combined medical expertise of Tom Frank as your ENT physician and the diagnostic and rehabilitative skills of Sandy ??? as your audiologist. We offer the full spectrum of available treatments, in addition to the most advanced digital hearing aids. Get your hearing problems diagnosed and treated quickly and under one roof!
Approximately 5% to 10% of hearing problems in adults are medically or surgically treatable, and even more in children suffering from ear infections. Tom Frank MD audiologists are skilled in the medical and surgical treatment of a variety of causes of hearing loss, including:
Otitis media and Otitis externa | Otosclerosis | Tympanic perforations | Cholesteatomas | Eustachian tube dysfunction | Sensorineural hearing loss | Cochlear/acoustic nerve disorders | Congenital malformations | Meniere's disease
Types of Hearing Loss
Hearing loss can be categorized by where or what part of the auditory system is damaged. There are three basic types of hearing loss: conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss and mixed hearing loss.
Conductive Hearing Loss
Conductive hearing loss occurs when sound is not conducted efficiently through the outer ear canal to the eardrum and the tiny bones, or ossicles, of the middle ear. Conductive hearing loss usually involves a reduction in sound level or the ability to hear faint sounds. This type of hearing loss can often be medically or surgically corrected.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when there is damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear (retrocochlear) to the brain. Sensorineural hearing loss cannot be medically or surgically corrected. Sensorineural hearing loss not only involves a reduction in sound level or ability to hear faint sounds, but also affects speech understanding.
Mixed Hearing Loss
Sometimes a conductive hearing loss occurs in combination with a sensorineural hearing loss. In other words, there may be damage in the outer or middle ear and in the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerve. When this occurs, the hearing loss is referred to as a mixed hearing loss.
