Hearing loss is the third most common health problem in the United States. More than 31 million Americans have some type of hearing problem. Although hearing problems are commonly associated with the normal aging process, more than one-half of hearing impaired persons are under the age of 65. Hearing difficulties are often unrecognized by the person involved. As a result, most people wait seven to ten years before seeking help. The good news is there is help for people with hearing loss. The Jefferson Balance and Hearing Center, located within Thomas Jefferson University’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 925 Chestnut Street, 6th Floor, Philadelphia, PA, provides patients with on-site diagnostic audiologic and vestibular testing to identify a wide Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery provide diagnostic evaluation and medical intervention in the treatment of patients with balance and hearing disorders.

The Center’s audiologists dispense state-of-the-art digital and digitally-programmable hearing aids for those patients whose hearing impairment negatively impacts their ability to communicate in personal and/or professional settings. Audiologists program hearing aids to meet individual patient’s hearing needs. They also troubleshoot hearing aids using digital analysis and speech mapping.

The Center provides a wide range of diagnostic testing using state-of-the-art equipment. The Center also offers aural rehabilitation services in the form of hearing aids and cochlear implant follow up. Physicians within the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery provide diagnostic evaluation and medical intervention in the treatment of patients with balance and hearing disorders.

Physical therapists from Jefferson’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine provide Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy for patients diagnosed with balance problems that may benefit from this specialized therapy. The Center’s audiologists provide counseling regarding hearing loss, appropriate amplification options, and realistic expected outcomes from the use of amplification.

Until recently, there were few options to improve the hearing of persons with profound hearing loss or single-sided deafness. In the last decade, however, micro power hearing instruments, cochlear implants and implantable hearing aids have emerged as exciting options. Micro power instruments provide the power needed without annoying feedback to allow patients to have a sense of hearing on both sides. These may be ideal for deafness due to surgical removal of an acoustic neuroma.

Cochlear implants are surgically implanted hearing devices that produce hearing sensations by directly stimulating the auditory nerve in ears that no longer benefit from hearing aids. This bypasses the damaged cochlea, sending a signal directly to the portion of the brain responsible for hearing. The Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery offers a full-service cochlear implant program. We provide counseling and education beginning with the patient’s initial visit through post-implant care. The initial evaluation is conducted by our otologist/neurotologists, Thomas Willcox, M.D. and Gregory Artz, M.D., who then refer the patient for an implant eligibility assessment to be conducted by an experienced audiologist. Based on the assessment, the otologist/neurotologist determines if surgery is indicated. The audiologist then provides follow-up care including cochlear implant programming and rehabilitation after surgery.

The Center is staffed by an experienced group of doctoral-level audiologists. Thomas Willcox, M.D. the Center’s Medical Director, is board-certified in Otolaryngology, fellowship trained in Otology, Neurotology and Skullbase Surgery, and has more than 14 years of experience in treating patients with hearing and balance disorders. Gregory Artz M.D. will be joining the Center in July, 2008 after a two-year fellowship in Neurotology-Skull Base Surgery at the Michigan Ear Institute. Nancy Catterall, Au.D, the Center’s Clinical Director, has a doctorate degree in Audiology. She is boardcertified by the American Board of Audiology, a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology, and has over 25 years of experience in the field. Nancy’s staff includes Paula Marcinkevich, Au.D, Elizabeth Gray, Au.D, Midori Wakabayashi, M.S., and Amy Rominger, Au.D. Together this team brings decades of experience and dedication in the care and treatment of patients with balance and hearing disorders.

Highly trained professionals, state-of-the-art technology and equipment combined with a team approach make The Jefferson Balance and Hearing Center uniquely qualified to meet the need of patients with balance and hearing disorders.