https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/wards-and-departments/departments/clinical-specialties/audiological-medicine-information-parents-and-visitors/audiological-medicine-department/
About the Audiology department
Find out about Audiology services at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
The Sight and Sound Centre - a patient story
Our services
Your child has been referred to us so we can carry out a series of assessments to determine their hearing levels. These assessments will be carried out by audiologists and audiovestibular physicians and may take up to 1 hour.
The audiologist will carry out a series of tests depending on your child’s age and needs. We will attempt to make the assessment relaxed and fun with toys and games.
Some children will require several hearing assessments depending on their needs as it is not always possible to get all the information in one session. Other children may require regular monitoring of their hearing, such as children at risk of ototoxicity from their medication (for example oncology and cystic fibrosis patients).
At the end of the appointment, your child will have a consultation with the audiovestibular physician who will will take a detailed history of your child’s development and discuss your concerns and also explain the results thoroughly. They will send a copy of the report to your home address as well as to other healthcare professionals involved in your child’s care.
Your child has been referred for consideration of a bone conduction hearing device to assist with their hearing loss. For ease of access the referral should be directed to your local centre, as they will be best placed to support your child's ongoing care. If the referral is accepted at GOSH your child will be seen for an initial assessment. If the assessment shows that a hearing implant could be helpful for your child, a further appointment will be arranged to fit one or two devices.
During the initial appointment we will carry out a series of tests to assess your child’s hearing. The appointment may take up to 1 hour and 30 minutes. We aim to make the tests as fun and relaxed as possible for your child by using toys and games.
After determining the status of your child’s hearing, we will program and discuss how to use the bone conduction hearing device. The device can be worn on a soft headband initially. You will receive information leaflets to take home with you.
If your child’s hearing device stops working, please follow the troubleshooting advice below. If you have further queries, or the device is lost, please contact us.
Following a hearing assessment, the audiologist and audiovestibular physician will consider whether your child could benefit from amplification.
We fit a range of hearing aids suitable for your child depending on their age, degree of hearing loss and physical needs. We may recommend one or two hearing aids.
If your child meets criteria, and is eligible for a hearing aid within our service, we will usually need to take an impression of their ear to make an earmould. Once the earmould is ready, another appointment will be made for the hearing aid fitting. You will be seeing an audiologist for the hearing aid fitting and the appointment may take up to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Contact the audiological team if you have further queries, or the hearing aid has been lost.
Children born with craniosynostosis are reviewed under the craniofacial unit at GOSH. Our unit is one of four supra-regional funded centres in England. We have a large multidisciplinary craniofacial team who offer a detailed and holistic assessment of each child, to plan tailored treatment now and in the future.
Audiology’s role in the craniofacial team is to carry out a series of tests to assess your child’s hearing. The assessments will be carried out by audiologists and may take up to 45 minutes. We aim to make the tests as fun and relaxed as possible for your child by using toys and games. If any hearing problems are identified, a management plan will be formulated. Typically, these assessments take place every Wednesday.
Your child has been referred to us as part of a larger multidisciplinary team review for cleft palate. During this review, you will be seen by a range of specialists, such as speech and language therapy, dental, psychology, and audiology.
During your appointment with audiology, we will carry out a series of tests to assess your child’s hearing. We aim to make the tests as fun and relaxed as possible for your child by using toys and games. These assessments may take up to 45 minutes.
After assessing your child’s hearing, you will be directed to the next appointment of your cleft palate review day. Future audiology appointments may be offered as part of the cleft palate review day. Your child may be referred to local audiology services in the interim if hearing monitoring is required.
Your child has been referred to us so that we can carry out a series of tests to assess for possible auditory processing disorders. The APD assessment entails two appointments:
- A telephone assessment to take a detailed history
- A face-to-face appointment to carry out the assessment
The telephone assessment may take up to 1 hour, and the face-to-face assessment may take up to 2 hours. During the assessment, your child will be asked to listen to different sounds and words.
Children with APD can hear sounds and words but have difficulties processing and interpreting the information. APD frequently co-exists with other conditions.
Your child has been referred to us so that we can explore the cause of any dizziness or balance difficulty. We will carry out a series of tests, and we aim to make the tests as fun and relaxed as possible for your child. The assessment will be carried out by audiologists and audiovestibular consultants and may take up to 1 hour and 30 minutes. You should find a document attached to your appointment letter describing what to expect during the appointment.
There are lots of reasons children can feel dizzy or have difficulty balancing. In your appointment the audiologist and the audiovestibular consultant will identify how well the vestibular system (the part of balance system related to the ears) is functioning, as well as considering the other aspects of the balance system.
As it is a consultant-led clinic your child will have a follow-up consultation either on the day or as a further appointment in the near future.
Your child has been referred to us for an auditory brainstem response (ABR) hearing assessment. This appointment can take up to 1 hour and 30 minutes. This allows time for your child to settle, because they need to be asleep for the assessment. It is recommended to bring things to help your child settle, such as additional milk or dummies. To prepare for the test small sticky pads (electrodes) are placed on the head, then sounds are played through headphones. The ABR test measures the pathway of the sound from the ear to the brain. Sometimes it may take several appointments to complete the ABR hearing assessment.
In this clinic we will perform a range of objective tests to establish your child’s hearing function. Objective tests do not require a behavioural response (such as pressing a button, or turning the head to a sound). These tests may be performed for a variety of reasons, including:
- If your child is unable to participate in or complete other types of hearing test
- If there are concerns regarding your child’s hearing pathway
- To diagnose specific types of hearing related issues
- To assess if hearing amplification is effective in improving detection of sounds
Cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP) testing is an example of an objective test we carry out. This involves the placement of sticky pads (electrodes) on your child’s head. The sticky pads are connected to equipment to record whether there are responses to /m/, /g/, and /t/ sounds. This test can be performed while your child is awake and engaged in unrelated activity, such as looking at books or watching animations.
Many children and young people with difficulties affecting both vision and hearing are currently seen in separate clinics at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) but would benefit from being seen in a joint clinic. The dual sensory clinic offers a one-stop assessment involving members of staff from both the audiological medicine (hearing and balance) and ophthalmology (vision) teams.
In the audiological medicine portion of the clinic hearing and balance assessments will be carried out by audiologists and audiovestibular consultants, and may take up to 90 minutes.
The following websites provide information and services related to the support of hearing and balance difficulties:
- National Deaf Children's Society
- Royal National Institute of the Deaf
- John Tracy clinic
- Auditory verbal therapy
This information does not constitute health or medical advice and will not necessarily reflect treatment at GOSH or other hospitals. If you have any questions, please speak with your doctor. No liability can be taken as a result of using this information.
The Sight and Sound Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) is a dedicated and purpose-built home-from-home for children and young people with vision and hearing loss.
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