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, Speech Language Therapy, Audiology, and Newborn Hearing Screening
Mary Kerridge
Clinical Lead Audiology
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.