The Audiology Department at Providence Health Care
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The Audiology Department at Providence Health Care — serves as a major diagnostic and rehabilitative facility for patients with hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance disturbance. The majority of patients are outpatients referred for diagnostic hearing and balance assessments by otolaryngologists throughout the province. Inpatients are also seen upon referral for diagnostic assessments, hearing screening, or for serial monitoring of their hearing while they are being treated with medications that are potentially damaging to hearing or balance mechanisms.
The services provided by Audiology include:
• Hearing assessment and diagnostics
• Monitoring for ototoxicity
• Vestibular (balance) assessment & diagnostics
• Hearing rehabilitation
• Cochlear Implant services
• Auditory Brainstem Implant services
• Tinnitus Clinic
Audiology shares the space of the Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Clinic with the Division of Otolaryngology, and evaluates approximately 2,000 patients per year. The department has a state-of-the-art facility, including:
• Three double-walled sound suites
• Clinical audiometers
• Immittance audiometers
• Auditory evoked potential systems
• Otoacoustic emission systems
• Cochlear implant equipment for patients with Nucleus, Advanced Bionics, and Med-El cochlear implant systems
• Videonystagmography
Cochlear Implant and Auditory Brainstem Implant Program
The Audiology Department serves as the home of the province's Adult Cochlear Implant and Auditory Brainstem Implant Program, with some 400 recipients to date, and is the only centre in British Columbia providing
these services to deaf or hard-of-hearing adults. Three of the department's audiologists have specialized training and expertise in cochlear implants. The cochlear implant services include preoperative assessment of potential
candidates for the procedure, postoperative assessment, intraoperative
monitoring, programming and reprogramming of patient's devices,
rehabilitation, longterm management of implant recipients, and research.
Tinnitus Clinic
The department operates a Tinnitus Clinic for patients with severe intractable tinnitus, characterized by a perception of sound that originates in the head. This clinic offers a graded series of treatments, known as Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT). The BC Medical Services plan does not cover TRT and everyone who comes to the clinic must pay a fee. Workers with a recognized tinnitus claim may be eligible for coverage of TRT through WorkSafeBC. Veterans and retired RCMP members with tinnitus "entitlement" can apply for coverage of TRT through Veterans Affairs Canada.
Clinical Training
The department also serves a major role in the clinical training of Masters Degree Audiology students from the UBC School of Audiology and Speech Sciences and in the clinical and academic education of Otolaryngology Residents.
Multidisciplinary Team
The department's Audiologists contribute to the continuum of care at PHC by working closely with the Otolaryngologists of the ENT Clinic and staff on inpatient wards. Audiology staff have published original research articles in respected peer-reviewed journals and presented at international meetings.
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