Hearing and Balance Center

Albany ENT & Allergy Services PC offers a complete array of testing to help diagnose your hearing and balance disorders. These tests may be ordered by your AENT physician or by your other physician providers and are conducted by our licensed audiology staff. These include:

Audiological Evaluations for Adults and Children
Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response Testing (BSER)
Distortion-Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAEs)
Electrocochleography (ECOG)
High Frequency Audiometric Testing
Perilymphatic Fistula Testing
Video Electronystagmography
Water Protection - Customized Ear Plugs

Testing Procedure Descriptions

Audiological Evaluation

The audiological evaluation consists of a hearing test and immittance testing. The hearing test is completed in a sound treated room and headphones or ear inserts are placed on or in the ears of the patient. The patient then responds to a series of sounds to determine the degree of hearing. The patient is also given a series of words to repeat to determine their ability to discriminate speech. Immittance testing is also completed to determine the status of the outer and middle ear. Immittance measures help to determine whether the eardrum and bones of hearing are functioning normally.

Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BSER)

Brainstem Auditory Evoked response testing is an objective measure of the status of the auditory nerve pathway from the inner ear to the brainstem. In this test, electrodes are placed on a patient's forehead and insert earphones are placed in the patient's ears. The patient then relaxes as they hear a clicking sound that is presented to one ear at a time. A response is recorded and displayed as a waveform that contains peaks which correspond to various points along the neural pathway.

The time between these peaks are measured and compared to normative data. BSER is helpful in the diagnosis of demyelinating diseases of the brain (i.e. Multiple Sclerosis), tumors of the eighth cranial nerve (hearing and balance nerve) and vascular lesions (strokes) of the brain stem. Threshold testing can also be done to determine if hearing is present in an individual unable to participate in a conventional hearing test.

Electrocochleography (ECOG)

ECOG has a similar set up as the BSER and is an objective test that records potentials, which determine the pressures within the inner ear. A ratio may indicate an increase of pressure in the inner ear indicating Méniére's disease.

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE)

This test is done to check the response of the outer hair cells in the cochlea. After sound is introduced into the ear, the ear emits minute sounds which can be measured with a computer. The presence of otoacoustic emissions means that the hair cells are functioning and are able to respond to sound in a normal way. This test helps to diagnose whether the pathology is in the outer hair cells.