A new service at Cairns Hospital is helping assess patients’ hearing, at all ages.
The hospital has a new audiology service, that carries out diagnostic testing and hearing surveillance for patients, from infants through to the elderly, referred by newborn hearing screening nurses and from Cairns Hospital ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) specialists.
A soundproof booth has been installed at the hospital to help provide optimum diagnostic conditions for Cairns Hospital audiologist Imogen Murphy.
‘The audiology service provides audiology testing for patients referred via our ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) specialists and also diagnostic testing and surveillance for infants that fail their newborn hearing screening via the Healthy Hearing Program,’ she said.
As part of the new service, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service has partnered with Logan Hospital to provide tele-audiology services to Far Northern patients, to help extend diagnosis and ear health management to rural and remote parts of the region.
‘The Logan Hospital audiologist takes remote control of our clinical laptop and audiology equipment to perform the hearing assessments,’ Ms Murphy said.
‘Our trained clinical assistant is based at Cairns Hospital with the patient and is delegated to perform the video otoscopy, tympanometry (middle ear assessment) and places the different hearing transducers on the patient’s ears for the hearing assessment.
‘The Logan Hospital audiologists then interprets the findings and reports the results to the Cairns ENT Specialist.’
Patients can access the new service via a referral from a Cairns Hospital ENT specialist.