The objective of the speech-language diagnostic department is to evaluate individuals of every age group who exhibit various speech-language and swallowing concerns using highly relevant and standardised national and international assessment/ evaluation tools.

The Department of Audiology specializes in the prevention, identification, diagnosis, and evidence-based treatment of hearing, balance, and other auditory disorders for people across all age groups, from infants to older adults. The goal is to maximize communication abilities and overall quality of life.

Diagnostic Audiology

Diagnostic Audiology focuses on identifying the presence, nature, and extent of hearing loss or balance disorders. This involves a comprehensive series of specialized tests to determine where in the auditory system (outer, middle, or inner ear, and associated neural pathways) a problem lies.

• Core Services:
  • Comprehensive Hearing Evaluation: Assessing the quietest sounds a person can hear (Pure-Tone Audiometry) and how well they understand speech (Speech Audiometry).
  • Objective Measures: Tests that do not require a behavioural response, such as:
    • Tympanometry/Acoustic Reflex Testing: Measures middle ear function.
    • Otoacoustic Emissions (OAEs): Checks inner ear (cochlear) function.
    • Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR): Assesses the auditory nerve and brainstem’s response to sound, often used for newborns or hard-to-test populations.

• Balance Assessment (Videonystagmography/VNG): A series of tests used to diagnose the cause of dizziness or vertigo by examining the inner ear’s vestibular system.

Rehabilitative Audiology

Rehabilitative Audiology (also known as aural rehabilitation) focuses on managing and treating hearing loss to improve communication and quality of life after a diagnosis has been made. The treatment plan is highly personalized based on the patient’s specific needs, lifestyle, and degree of loss.

• Core Services:
  • Hearing Aid Fitting and Management: Selecting, programming, fitting, and fine-tuning appropriate hearing aids to amplify sound and improve speech clarity. Includes ongoing maintenance and repair.
  • Cochlear Implant Services: Counseling, candidacy evaluation, surgical planning coordination, initial activation, and mapping (programming) of cochlear implants for individuals with severe to profound hearing loss.
  • Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs): Recommending and dispensing technologies like FM systems, amplified telephones, and vibrating alarms to help in specific listening situations (e.g., classrooms, noisy restaurants).
  • Aural Rehabilitation Training: Counseling, communication strategies training, and listening skill development for the patient and their family to help them adjust to and manage hearing loss effectively.

Which includes:

Screening and diagnostic tests and checklist to obtain comprehensive information about the disorder/condition -detailed aphasia, dementia, autism spectrum disorders, dysarthria and cognitive-linguistic testing, to mention a few; acoustic evaluation of speech using software programs.

• Use of tools that are standardised and/or criterion-referenced, to compare individuals to their peers.
• Examination of medical records to find pertinent medical, pharmacological, and health related information.
• Identification of specific concerns, interviewing individuals and/or family to acquire case histories.
• Accurately chosen assessment procedures that are culturally and linguistically suitable
• Observation of behaviour to ascertain a person’s abilities in a naturalistic predicament or context.
• Identification of problems of swallowing and communication;
• Evaluation of voice, resonance, velopharyngeal function, and swallowing using appropriate instrumentation.
• Documentation of assessment and trial outcomes; with the intent of use of AAC interventions and technology, such as speech-generating devices
• record evaluation results and observations
• Formulation of diagnostic impressions to create a treatment strategy and recommendations.