- Free Two Week Trial
- 10% off for Veterans
- We Accept Your Insurance
- Full Service Hearing Aid Repair
- Custom Fit Hearing Aids
- Physician Owned Office
Audiologist ENT VS. Hearing Aid Dispenser
| Audiologist | Hearing Aid Dispenser |
|---|---|
| Requires more than 1,800 hours of clinical training | Training may only require apprenticeship with licensed hearing aid dispenser |
| Can conduct tests to help diagnose balance disorders | Can only conduct hearing tests |
| Works closely with ENT physicians | typically does not work with medical personnel |
| Works with the patient and family, counseling them on communication strategies | Typically does not work with the patient’s entire family |
Hearing Services
As a full-service ENT, we provide hearing services for hearing loss, tinnitus, and other hearing disorders. We also provide custom-fit professional hearing aids in Canton, Jasper, and Blue Ridge. Our hearing services include:
We also provide treatment for other conditions of the ear, including ear infections and ear pain.
Schedule your free hearing aid consultation
See what our patients are saying…
For years I was told hearing aids would not provide any significant help for my hearing loss. Steve Sick proved them wrong. Steve has been with me through my evolution from CIC technology to today’s CRT instruments. With my latest CRT instruments, Steve can download the history of how I use my hearing aids. He then uses that information to further improve the programming of my instruments. Steve knows the products he provides and can match the hearing aids and programming to your specific needs. He spends the time necessary to fit your hearing aids to your hearing loss and lifestyle. I wouldn’t use any other audiologist.
Alvin Stewart Jasper, GA
Amazed…and Well Pleased, it’s not every day a person can honestly say I’ve found a BTE Moda (Open Fit) to be perfect for me. Thank you Mr. Sick!
Sincerely, Herman T. Smith
These small behind the ear hearing aids are so comfortable to wear, I forgot I have them in! I tried custom fit hearing aids before and was so determined to get used to them. I forced myself to wear them at least until 6:00pm. Steve switched me over to these open fit hearing aids, and now I wear them all day. I’m not looking at the clock waiting to take them out!! Not only that, background noises don’t bother me with these aids. They are so small, everyone is surprised I wear hearing aids and the service could not be better!! Steve has been so receptive to me and the problems I had with my other hearing aids. I’ve recommended my friends to go to the Ear, Nose and Throat Specialists!!
Sincerely, Carole Shupe
The Hearing System
The anatomy of the hearing system can be divided into four components. These divisions are the Outer Ear, Middle Ear, Inner Ear, and the Central Auditory Pathways:
The Outer Ear
The outer ear is made up of the pinna or auricle and the external auditory canal. The pinna collects and funnels sound down the ear canal. The ear canal is curved, “S” shaped, and about 1 inch long in adults. It has hairs and glands that produce wax called cerumen. Cerumen helps to lubricate the skin and keep it moist.
The Middle Ear
The eardrum (tympanic membrane) is a membrane at the inner end of the ear canal. On that inner side of the tympanic membrane is an air filled space called the middle ear cavity. The vibrations of the tympanic membrane are transmitted through the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup), also called the ossicles. The stapes footplate transmits the vibrations into the inner ear.
The Inner Ear
The inner ear has two divisions: one for hearing, the other for balance. The hearing division consists of the cochlea and the nerve of hearing.
The cochlea is snail-shaped, bony structure that contains the sensory organ for hearing called the organ of Corti. The organ of Corti releases chemical messengers when the vibrations from the stapes activate its tiny hair cells. These then excite the nerves of hearing which carry sound to the brain.
Central Auditory Pathways
The central auditory system is a complex network of neural pathways in the brain that is responsible for sound localization, speech understanding in noisy listening situations and other complex sounds, including music perception.
The Process of “Hearing”
Sound is transformed into mechanical energy by the tympanic membrane. It is then transmitted through the ossicles to the inner ear where it is changed again into hydraulic energy for transmission through the fluidfilled cochlea. The cochlea’s hair cells are stimulated by the fluid waves and a neurochemical event takes place that excites the nerves of hearing. The physical characteristics of the original sound are preserved at every energy change along the way until this code becomes one the brain can recognize and process.
Hearing loss misleads our brain with a loss of audibility and introduces distortion into the message that reaches the brain. Changes in the effectiveness of the brain to process stimuli, from head trauma, disease, or from aging, can result in symptoms that mimic hearing loss. The ears and the brain combine in a remarkable way to process neural events into the sense of hearing. Perhaps it’s fair to say that we “hear” with our brains, not with our ears!