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Children’s Hospital Colorado
Anschutz Medical Campus
13123 East 16th Avenue
Aurora, CO 80045
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In life-threatening emergencies, find the emergency room location nearest you. For non-life-threatening medical needs when your pediatrician is unavailable, visit one of our urgent care locations.
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New patients and families can schedule appointments for this department online. Existing patients can schedule their follow-up visits through MyChart.
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Audiology Services at Children's Hospital Colorado
At Children’s Hospital Colorado, we treat the big things, the small things and everything in between.
At Children's Hospital Colorado, our expertly trained pediatric audiologists provide current and evidence-based care for your child's hearing and balance needs. We are a national leader in comprehensive family-centered care, helping families gain the technology, knowledge and skills to help your child achieve their full potential to access sound and optimize communication.
Audiology services available
At Children's Colorado, our pediatric audiologists evaluate the hearing and balance of children from birth to age 21. They also provide comprehensive interpretation of test results and recommendations to both inpatient and outpatient populations.
Comprehensive diagnostic evaluations
- Behavioral audiologic testing (with one or two testers)
- Visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA)
- Conditioned play audiometry (CPA)
- Standard hand-raise audiometry
- Speech testing
- Visual reinforcement infant speech discrimination (VRISD)
- Word and sentence recognition testing
- Immittance testing
- Tympanometry
- Acoustic reflex testing
- Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs)
- Auditory evoked potential (AEP) testing (under anesthesia or natural sleep)
- Auditory brainstem response (ABR)
- Auditory steady state response (ASSR)
Vestibular testing
Vestibular testing checks how well your vestibular system is helping you move, position and balance your body. Vestibular organs are inside the inner ears. They sense gravity and movement in all directions and tell your brain where you are in space. Vestibular organ issues can cause:
- Dizziness
- Imbalance
- Gross motor skill delays
- Problems with attention and academics
- Trouble with social skills
Because the hearing and vestibular organs are connected, someone with a hearing difference is more likely to have these issues.
Given this, our Pediatric Balance and Vestibular Disorders Clinic proactively recommends vestibular testing for children with certain hearing conditions. These conditions or issues include:
- Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder
- Bacterial meningitis
- CHARGE syndrome
- Children with cochlear implants
- Congenital cytomegalovirus
- Enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome
- Progressive or late-onset sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL)
- Single-sided deafness
- Temporal bone fractures
- Usher syndrome
Parents can also seek a vestibular referral from their child’s pediatrician any time they have concerns for their child’s gross motor development, balance or dizziness.
Our audiologists will recommend the best vestibular test based on your child’s referral, age, development and primary symptoms.
Learn about the vestibular tests we use.
Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP)
The audiologist places small sticker sensors on your child’s neck and face. Your child listens to a loud sound for about 20 seconds at a time while they lift and turn their head or look at an object above them. These tests assess the organs in the inner ears that sense up, down, forward and backward movement.
Video head impulse test (vHIT)
Your child wears lightweight goggles or looks at a remote camera that measures their eye movements during head movement. We’ll ask your child to hold their gaze on a target, interesting video or toy. At the same time, the audiologist moves your child’s head in quick, small movements. This test assesses how stable vision is while the body is moving.
Rotational chair testing
Your child is seated on a rotating chair controlled by a computer. We safely secure them with a safety belt, booster seat or car seat. Infants and small children may sit on their parent’s lap for this test. The chair is inside a small, dark room and an audiologist monitors it through a camera. Your child wears electrodes or goggles containing small cameras to record how their eyes move as the chair gently rotates left and right. An assistant stays inside, so your child will never be alone in the enclosure. This test takes up to 15 minutes; however, the door can be opened between tests for breaks as needed.
Videonystagmography (VNG)
This measures your child’s eye movements as they react to different cues. They wear goggles with small cameras that record their eye movements. Your child may watch moving objects on a screen or lay in different positions on an exam bed. VNG is also used to record eye movements during the caloric test.
Caloric testing
The audiologist will attempt this test last and only for children 7 years and older when developmentally appropriate. We also only perform this test when needed to confirm other test findings because it can make some people feel dizzy/nauseous. For this test, the audiologist will administer cool and sometimes warm water in your child’s ears one drop at a time for 30 seconds while the VNG goggles record how their eyes respond. During this test your child may feel like they are moving, but the sensation will not last long. This test is not completed when the child has a hole in one or both ear drums, has tympanostomy tubes or if there is too much ear wax.
Vestibular testing is available for most ages and developmental levels at multiple Children’s Colorado locations, with the primary lab located at Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora. An audiologist will review your child’s referral and choose the best appointment type for their age and concern. Then, you will receive a text message asking you to call audiology schedulers at 720-777-6801. You may also check the status of your child’s referral by calling that same number.
See our locations and available testing:
- Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora
- Comprehensive Vestibular Evaluation
- Limited Vestibular Evaluation
- VEMP Testing
- Health Pavilion, Aurora
- VEMP Testing
- Therapy Care, Highlands Ranch
- VEMP Testing
- North Campus, Broomfield
- VEMP Testing
- Outpatient Care at Briargate, Colorado Springs
- VEMP Testing
- Therapy Care on Telstar, Colorado Springs
- Vestibular Screen (this is coordinated with a physical evaluation and may require a referral to physical therapy to schedule)
If you think your child needs vestibular testing, talk to your primary care provider first.
If children have normal hearing and balance or gross motor skill concerns, we recommend they first seek a physical therapy evaluation before pursuing vestibular testing.
However, due to the increased risk of vestibular disorders in children with permanent hearing loss, all children with SNHL who have these concerns should see an audiologist for vestibular testing.
For referring physicians, please place a referral to audiology for vestibular testing in Epic (REF 9103) or fax a referral to our audiology team at 720-777-7299. To check the status of a referral, call our audiology schedulers at 720-777-6801.
Watch this video to learn more about comprehensive vestibular testing for children developmentally 7 years and older:
Watch this video to learn more about limited vestibular testing for children developmentally younger than 7 years:
Child life specialists for vestibular testing
Child Life services are available to support your child and family as you prepare for vestibular testing. They can meet you in a telehealth appointment before your vestibular evaluation to help you understand what will happen during your child’s assessment and answer any questions.
A child life specialist can also be present for the vestibular appointment to provide age-appropriate support for your child throughout testing. If you are interested in including this free service, please let us know when you make your vestibular appointment.
Comprehensive amplification services
Our audiologists are experts in the selection, fitting and evaluation of:
- Traditional hearing aids and earmolds
- Bone conduction hearing devices (BCHDs)
- Assistive listening devices
Families also have access to:
- Newborn hearing screening
- Cochlear implant services
- Parent counseling, support and education
- Family assistance in identifying appropriate community services
At a family's request, our audiologists are able to communicate frequently with early intervention providers and educational audiologists in an effort to provide a comprehensive continuum of care.
Specialty audiology clinics and programs
Our specialists contribute to a variety of multidisciplinary teams, specialty clinics and camps at Children's Colorado. Just some of these include:
- Cochlear Implant Program
- Newborn Hearing Screening Program
- Sie Center for Down Syndrome
- Hearing Clinic (for patients with newly identified hearing loss)
- Pediatric Vestibular and Balance Disorders Clinic
- The Microtia Clinic
- Cleft Lip and Palate Program
- Deaf and Hard of Hearing Clinic (in partnership with Developmental Pediatrics)
- Osteogenesis Imperfecta Clinic
Dori's Discovery Days Camp
Dori's Discovery Days is an annual weekend camp for children ages 7-11 years who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as their parents or guardians, brothers and sisters. Parents will build new skills through educational sessions while the children participate in fun camp activities at the Easter Seals Camp facility in Empire, Colorado. Dori's Discovery Days includes lodging, meals, and all activities. A generous gift from Doris A. Segar makes this weekend camp available at little cost to families.
What to expect from your audiology visit
If your child is a new patient, your audiologist will complete a detailed case history with your help to determine your child's needs. Your audiologist will select the most age and developmentally appropriate test techniques to evaluate your child's hearing. Once the evaluation is complete, our goal is to provide you with results and recommendations before leaving your appointment. If additional appointments are necessary, they will be scheduled following your initial appointment.
If your child has known hearing loss and wears an amplification device, your audiologist will select the most age and developmentally appropriate test techniques to monitor your child's hearing with and without their hearing device. Your audiologist will also evaluate the benefit your child receives from their amplification device using specialized equipment and parent questionnaires. The settings and fit of your child's amplification device will be adjusted based on their needs. Appointments will be scheduled throughout the year as needed to meet the needs of your child and your family.
Why choose audiology services at Children's Colorado?
Our audiologists are pediatric experts who work closely with individual families, primary care providers and other professionals to ensure that each child's hearing and balance needs are evaluated. Each child's needs are addressed using best practice and current technology.
Contact us
You can contact our audiology team at 720-777-6801.