Audiology
Audiology
Audiologists are allied health professionals who specialise in the prevention, identification, assessment and habilitation of hearing disorders.
Services offered by Audiology include:
- Diagnostic hearing assessment for children of all ages
- Diagnostic hearing assessment for adults when there is a medical need
- Hearing aid fitting and follow up for children with permanent or significant hearing loss
- Hearing aid fitting and follow up for adults who meet Ministry of Health enable full funding of hearing aids
- Ototoxicity monitoring
- Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department: hearing assessments for patients referred by ENT, including hearing assessment for children under general anaesthetic
- Assessment and fitting of bone anchored hearing aid implants.
- Provision of services for the Waikato Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and Early Intervention Programme: including diagnostic and early intervention services for babies who refer their newborn hearing screen.
Key personnel
Deborah McKellar
Manager – Audiology, Newborn Hearing Screening and Vision Hearing Screening
Ina Marais
Professional Lead – Audiology and Newborn Hearing Screening
Location
Our team offers an outpatient service for the Waikato region, which is based at:
- Waikato Hospital, Meade Clinical Centre, Audiology Clinic, Level 2, Reception E.
The service is also available as outreach clinics at Waikato DHB’s rural hospitals; Tokoroa, Te Kuiti, Thames and Taumarunui.
Contact
Phone: 07 839 8794
- Option 1 - Booking clerk:
For all booking and appointment queries - Option 2 - Assistant:
For all hearing aid and repairs queries
Email:
- Audio.Clinic@waikatodhb.health.nz - For all booking and appointment queries
- AudiologyHearingAid@waikatodhb.health.nz - For all hearing aid and repairs queries
Referrals are prioritised based on the information we receive.
The Audiology department accepts internal referrals and external referrals from a range of services for children which include (and are not limited to):
For children
- Referrals are accepted from Paediatricians, Plunket nurses, Vision and Hearing Technicians, General Practitioners, Speech Language Therapists and Child Development Centre.
For adults
- Referrals are accepted from General Practitioners and Ear, Nose and Throat specialists when there is a medical need.
- Hearing Therapists from Life Unlimited can also refer adults who meet the Ministry of Health enable full funding criteria.
Plunket nurses, Vision Hearing Technicians, GPs . Hearing therapists from Life Unlimited can provide initial hearing aid assessments and on-going hearing aid support for adults. Hearing therapists can also refer adults who meet the Ministry of Health enable full funding criteria.