DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
For a more accurate diagnosis
Audiology
Audiology is the branch of medical science that studies hearing, balance and their disorders. Physimed Health Group’s Audiology service evaluates the hearing of patients aged 5 years and older.
Based on the latest technology, audiological evaluations are conducted by Mrs. Roula Baali, certified audiologist. Mrs. Roula Baali is a member in good standing of the Ordre des orthophonistes et audiologistes du Quebec and Director of the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists for Quebec. Mrs. Baali provides basic hearing healthcare services and specializes in the prevention of hearing loss, identification, assessment, diagnosis, management and treatment of hearing disorders associated or not to other symptoms such as tinnitus or vertigo.
Audiology services are available at Physimed by appointment.
To book an appointment in audiology, contact us at 514 747-8185. Please note that it is not necessary to have a medical referral to book an appointment. However, if you have a prescription, we will quickly forward your results to the referring physician.
Physimed Health Group offers audiological consultations for :
- Hearing assessment: pre- and post-operative or pre- and post-treatment administered in ENT
- Expert audiological report to open a file at the CSST for occupational deafness
- Hearing surveillance in connection with taking potentially ototoxic medications
- Overall hearing needs assessment
- Recommendation of hearing aids and evaluation of their performance
- Follow-up for adaptation to wearing hearing aids
- Demonstration and recommendation of assistive hearing devices (telephone amplifier, teletypewriter (TTY), environmental controls for the door, telephone, smoke alarm and alarm clock, infrared system for television)
- Tinnitus assessment and help to reduce the tinnitus-related distress
What is the difference between Audiology and audiometry?
Hearing screening
Routine hearing screening is done by a nurse. An audiometric evaluation via earphones is performed. If the results turn out positive for hearing loss, a more sophisticated audiogram (a complete audiologic evaluation) is recommended to be performed by an audiologist.
Complete audiologic evaluation
Complete audiologic evaluation is conducted by an audiologist. The test includes the assessments of pure-tone and speech audiometry (air conduction and bone conduction) and the assessment of tympanic membrane mobility. Also, the audiologist conducts a comprehensive evaluation of individual needs and explains the results. The audiologist will refer you for medical treatment or prescribe hearing aids or assistive hearing, as needed.
Audiometry
Audiometry is a set of measures intended to identify a person’s hearing.
We can differentiate two type of audiometry, pure-tone and speech audiometry.
Pure-tone audiometry is conducted in a soundproof testing room. The patient raises his hand or presses a button upon hearing a sound. Sounds of different frequencies are tested. Pure-tone audiometry assesses air conduction (using earphones) and bone conduction (using vibrators placed behind the ear).
Speech audiometry is also conducted in a soundproof testing room. It evaluates speech understanding using lists of words (said to be phonetically balanced) presented at different intensities. The test is conducted using earphones.
Audiometry is recommended for :
- screening for hearing loss in children and teenagers
- screening for hearing loss in older people
- screening for hearing loss in people regularly exposed to loud noises
- screening for hearing loss after certain treatments (gentamicin)
- evaluating a possible hearing loss in a patient who has a persistent problem of hearing or who has difficulty understanding words in a conversation
- differentiating conduction deafness from sensorineural hearing loss
If you have a prescription for a hearing test or wish to have a hearing test, call 514 747-8185 to book an appointment. Our hearing specialists, audiologist and ear-nose and throat specialist work in partnership to better suit your needs.
