FAQs

Welcome to the GW Speech & Hearing Center FAQs. Here you will find answers for typical questions about scheduling appointments, our services, as well as hearing loss and hearing aids. If you don't find what you are looking for, please contact the GW Speech & Hearing Center staff directly at 202-994-7360.

Q. How do I schedule an appointment?

A. Just call the GW Speech & Hearing Center at 202-994-7360, and inform the staff of the type of service you are seeking. For example, if you need speech-language evaluation and/or therapy, intake information will be collected and your inquiry will be forwarded to the Speech-Language Pathologist with expertise in your area of need. The Clinician will return your call and schedule the evaluation and/or therapy accordingly. If you need any hearing evaluation or hearing aid services, an appointment for you will be scheduled with an Audiologist.

Q: Who should I call to make an appointment for an auditory processing battery of tests?

A: You'll need to speak directly with the Audiologist(s) who will conduct a basic phone interview to determine if the auditory processing evaluation is appropriate for the person in question. We provide auditory processing evaluations for children (ages 7 years and up), adolescents, and adults. The fee for this evaluation is $600.00 payable at the time of service. You will be provided with a universal insurance claim form to submit to your insurance for reimbursement, the amount of which depends upon the provisions of your policy.

Q: Why should I bring my child to the GW Speech & Hearing Center for a hearing test instead of my doctor's office?

A: GW Speech & Hearing Center is one of a few facilities in the area that does team testing, which involves an additional Audiologist and/or graduate student clinicians assisting the Audiologist in the test booth and focusing on the needs of the child, so that the Audiologist can concentrate on test procedures. This team approach typically offers a non-threatening and fun experience for both child and parent. Also, depending on the age or involvement of your child, the center has a variety of test procedures available. The Audiologists are experienced in testing children of all ages for possible hearing loss.

Q: How do I know I am a candidate for a hearing aid?

A: The first thing you must know is if you have hearing loss. It's advisable to have a hearing test as soon as you suspect that you have hearing loss. Another consideration is do you experience difficulty hearing or do you notice extra stress from not hearing or understanding speech or environmental sounds? Do you find yourself tired at the end of the day because you're straining to listen?

Sometimes family and friends will recognize that you have difficulty hearing even before you do. If they find your hearing loss to be a burden then you many want to consider a hearing aid just to be courteous to them. Another way to determine your candidacy for hearing aids is to ask for a demonstration and to try them in your typical listening environments.

Q: What should I do when my hearing aids whistle or feedback?

A: Feedback can occur from many reasons. One type of feedback is when a hearing aid needs a repair and has internal feedback. Your Audiologist can determine this. Another type of feedback is when the hearing aid works properly, but the amplified sound from the hearing aid gets picked up by the hearing aid microphone such as when you cup your hand over the hearing aid.

It's important to determine where the feedback is coming from. For instance, is the hearing aid or ear-mold fitting loosely and therefore causing sound leakage. Sometimes excess wax accumulation in the ear canal can cause feedback. Some solutions for feedback include, remaking the hearing aid or mold for a better fit, cleaning the ear canal, checking the hearing aid vent, reducing high frequency amplification or adding a "canal lock" to the hearing aid.

Q: What can you tell me about digital hearing aids?

A: There are many digital hearing instruments available. Most of these hearing aids analyze sounds, determine if the sound is speech versus noise and then convert this information to numbers which are analyzed and manipulated by a set of rules or algorithms that are programmed into a chip that controls the hearing aid amplification. As a result, digital hearing aids have less distortion that is generally found in analog hearing aids. These devises are extremely flexible and can be fine-tuned in many different ways via a computer.

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