Hearing Healthcare in Virginia
Hearing is an integral part of communicating with loved ones, making memories, and fully enjoying the most out of life. At our audiology clinic, we want each one of our patients to experience the positive impact better hearing can have. We offer a wide range of hearing healthcare services, from hearing tests, hearing aid fittings, hearing aid repairs, custom earmolds, and tinnitus treatment. Our hearing specialists have years of experience helping individuals of all ages, including children.
Hearing Tests in Radford and Floyd, VA
Hearing tests are the best way to determine your hearing ability and if you are impacted by hearing loss. We offer comprehensive hearing evaluations and tests at both our Radford and Floyd offices. During the evaluation, we will always perform an otoscopic examination of the inside of your ears to determine if impacted earwax is the cause of your hearing impairment. Then we will perform a series of tests including a word recognition test to assess how well you can understand speech in noise and quiet.
The results of your hearing test, your audiogram, will show us how your hearing loss affects you. Hearing loss is measured as mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe, and profound. No matter what degree of hearing loss you have, our experts can help you.
Hearing Aid Fitting
After you’ve had your hearing tested, the next step is to pick a hearing aid that matches your unique lifestyle and hearing needs. We will recommend a couple of devices that we believe will best help you. Once you’ve chosen which hearing aid you would like to move forward with, we will expertly fit the hearing aid to your ear shape and program them to your exact hearing needs.
If you have hearing aids that you purchased somewhere else, we can service and reprogram them for you. Our audiologist can service hearing aids from any of the major manufacturers.
Hearing Aid Repairs
If your hearing aid doesn’t sound quite the way it used to, there may be an internal issue with your device. Our hearing specialists can repair most issues or, if necessary, send your hearing aid to the manufacturer for more complex repairs.
Hearing Aid Cleanings
To keep your hearing aids performing their best it’s important to clean them on a daily basis. You should clean earwax off your hearing aids after each use with a clean, dry cloth to decrease build-up and maintain performance. In addition, we encourage you to bring your hearing aids in every six months for a professional, deep cleaning. This will ensure your hearing aids are providing you with optimal sound quality for the years to come.
Hearing Aid Batteries
Hearing aids are powered by small batteries. We sell a large selection of hearing aid batteries in both our Radford and Floyd offices. The most common type of hearing aid batteries are zinc-air button disposable batteries. All manufacturers utilize the same color scale – blue, orange, yellow, and brown – to specify the battery’s size. We can help you find hearing aid batteries at the best prices and let you know where to recycle your old hearing aid batteries.
Earwax Management
Earwax, medically known as cerumen, is an important function for healthy and clean ears. However, sometimes earwax can build-up too quickly or it doesn’t work itself out of the ear canal naturally and becomes impacted. Impacted earwax can cause discomfort, clogged ears, and muffled hearing.
You should never try to remove earwax on your own. Cotton swabs can push earwax further into the ear canal and can harm the delicate parts of the inner ear. We can safely and effectively remove earwax. If earwax is bothering you or affecting your hearing ability, contact us for an ear exam.
Hearing Protection
Good hearing is important for effective communication and healthy brain function. It’s important to be proactive about your hearing health by protecting your ears whenever you are exposed to loud sounds. In fact, loud noise exposure is one of the most common causes of hearing loss in people of all ages, especially teens and young adults.
At New River Valley Hearing, we create custom fit earmolds and earplugs for optimal hearing protection. Any time you are exposed to sounds that exceed 85 decibels – such as live music, power tools, motorbikes, shotguns, or airfare – you should wear hearing protection. The earmolds and earplugs we create will be custom fit to your exact ear shape, providing exceptional sound quality and comfort.
Be proactive about your hearing health by scheduling an appointment today!
Tinnitus Treatment
If you experience a ringing, buzzing, humming, thumping, or whistling sound in your ears on a regular basis, you most likely have tinnitus. Tinnitus, commonly known as “ringing in the ears,” affects millions of people around the world. Tinnitus can range in severity and can be soft or loud, sporadic or constant, mildly annoying or debilitating.
If tinnitus is affecting your quality of life, we offer a solution. First, we will evaluate your hearing and perform a tinnitus test. Then, once we’ve determined how tinnitus affects you, we will help you stop the ringing in your ears. We offer tinnitus masking hearing aids that will play soothing sounds to help distract your brain from the symptoms of tinnitus. Experience relief from ringing in the ears by contacting our office today for a hearing exam.
Balance Testing
The team at New River Valley Hearing are experts in dizziness and balance disorders. The National Institute of Health (NIH) suggests that dizziness or loss of balance will affect 90 million Americans during their lifetime. Chronic dizziness, vertigo, or loss of balance can be debilitating and can negatively affect your quality of life.
At New River Valley Hearing, we are affiliated with the American Institute of Balance. We provide comprehensive vestibular testing to determine if dizziness or balance issues are present due to vestibular pathology. We offer the following testing for balance disorders:
- Electrocochleography (EcochG): Tests for Meniere’s disease.
- Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (VEMP): Assists our specialists in determining if there is a dysfunction of the saccule or inferior vestibular nerve.
- Videonystagmography Testing (VNG): Assists our specialists in determining if the patient’s dizziness is caused by inner ear dysfunction, BPPV, or central pathology.
When you visit us for balance testing, your appointment will be broken into four testing steps.
- Dynamic Visual Acuity Testing
- Auditory Brainstem Response Testing
- Postural Stability Testing
- Rotary Chair Testing
These tests will help us determine if a vestibular disorder is present and what the best treatment plan is.
Redux
We offer Redux, an ultra-efficient evaporations system that leaves hearing instruments sounding their best through complete and verified moisture removal. If your hearing aids have been submerged in water or if the humidity has affected their performance, we can use Redux to restore your devices.
Earigator Cerumen Management
If you have stubborn earwax that is affecting your hearing, we can safely and efficiently remove it with our Earigator, the world’s most advanced self-contained ear irrigation system. The Earigator nozzle flushes body temperature water into the ear canal, dislodging impacted earwax. This method is pain free, quick, and highly effective. If you have built-up earwax that is causing hearing difficulties, contact us about our Earigator cerumen management system today.