Skip to main content

Audiology

We support the practice of audiologists, physicians and others with information about our services and with recommended follow-up guidelines for various populations.


About

Vision

Achievement of optimal communication potential for all children.

Mission

Making a positive difference for children and their families as the province wide centre for specialized pediatric audiology.

Hearing testing

Hearing testing is provided on a referral basis or through interdisciplinary team assessments. We also provide hearing testing on an on-call basis for the otolaryngologists (ear, nose and throat doctors) here at BC Children’s. Our staff do not dispense hearing aids, rather we work with our community partners to ensure that children receive the assistance they need. Hearing testing, hearing counselling and cochlear implant services are all provided.

We have a close relationship with the BC Early Hearing Program.

The neonatal follow-up clinic, the cleft palate & craniofacial team and the oncology teams at BC Children's all have some Audiology Service.

Care paths/practice guidelines
We have produced a series of flow diagrams called “care paths” that outline recommendations regarding the timing of testing and frequency of audiological monitoring for various populations. The available care paths are shown below:



 

All infants born in BC are referred for audiological services following Newborn Hearing Screening (NHS) if they have the following results:

 

This care path addresses the audiological follow up for children with congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) in BC.

This care path and clinical practice guideline address the audiological follow up for children with meningitis in BC.
This care path addresses the audiological follow up for children identified as having Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD)

 
BCCH Neonatal Follow-Up

The BCCH Neonatal Follow-Up (NFU) Program is a multidisciplinary team program that enrols families to participate in regular interdisciplinary team review and assessment. Enrolment is offered to families whose infants have certain perinatal/risk factors that place them at high risk of additional/complex needs or for whom little is known about potential outcomes. Patient recruitment criteria are available on their website.

This care path addresses the typical audiological schedule for children followed by this program for which hearing assessment is recommended:
This care path addresses the typical audiological schedule for children followed by this program with a history of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) or those that have received Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO):
Cleft Palate & Craniofacial
There are many exceptions to this guideline, each child's case is reviewed with the information we have at the time and if hearing loss has not been ruled out by the time of their team visit, we will book Audiology as part of their visit. 

Patients with cleft lip and/or cleft palate and some craniofacial anomalies are referred to the team.  

Many infants with cleft lip and/or palate receive nursing support early in life for feeding and other consultation.  

Generally, babies with cleft palate receive a hearing screening through the BC Early Hearing Program as well as a diagnostic hearing test prior to 3 months of age and again at around 9 months of age, prior to their cleft repair surgery.  

Many children with cleft palates have more episodes of middle ear fluid than children without clefts.  For this reason many get ear tubes (myringotomy tubes) at the time of their palate repair and are followed closely by ENT. 

The audiologist on the team works closely with public health audiology in the community to ensure appropriate follow up hearing testing is provided in the early years.  

For more information the Cleft Palate Program Nurse can be contacted at 604-875-2345  local 7057 or visit the Cleft Palate Craniofacial Disorders Team website.

Care Paths

This clinical guideline is designed to address the audiology follow up for children with cleft palate, craniofacial anomalies and syndromes associated with hearing loss.  
Several specific care paths have been developed for various groups of children covered in this guideline. 
Care paths have been developed for three groups of children with syndromes with varying degrees of known risk of late onset permanent hearing loss.

Patient Handout

Here is a brochure for Audiologists to provide and review with families of children with a cleft palate.  It is suggested that this brochure be provided at the early diagnostic ABR visit and/or around the first behavioural assessment, not at the time of screening.
 

‎The Cleft Palate/Craniofacial Team at our hospital is an interdisciplinary team of professionals that includes a nurse practitioner, speech and language pathologist, orthodontist, plastic surgeon, otolaryngologist (ENT), pediatrician and audiologist. 

To see more information about the Cleft Palate Craniofacial Team see their website below:

Tab Heading


Tab Heading

SOURCE: Audiology ( )
Page printed: . Unofficial document if printed. Please refer to SOURCE for latest information.

Copyright © BC Children's Hospital. All Rights Reserved.

    Copyright © 2024 Provincial Health Services Authority.