Our Services

Tympanometry is a very quick, painless procedure used to determine the status of the middle ear. It measures the movement and sound conduction ability of the eardrum at varying air pressure levels, which will help determine if there may be medically-treatable conditions in the middle ear.

There are many products designed to help individuals with hearing loss hear better in specific situations. For example, there are amplified telephones, television listening devices, extra loud alarm clocks, and alerting devices that cause a lamp to flash whenever a doorbell or telephone rings. We are able to obtain these products for you through specialty catalogs, so give us a call if you would like additional information.

Tinnitus is the medical term for sounds generated within a person's auditory system. The majority of people with tinnitus describe it as "ringing in the ears," but other people describe it as sounding like crickets, the hum from fluorescent lights, the sound of a seashell, or even as a roaring sound.

Tens of millions of people in the US have tinnitus. Its cause may vary from person to person. It is important to know that tinnitus can be a symptom of an underlying medical problem, so anyone who has tinnitus should consult a physician to rule out any treatable medical condition.

For a majority of people, tinnitus is simply a result of damage to structures in the inner ear, which also usually produces some degree of hearing loss. This damage is often caused by exposure to excessive levels of noise, although there may be other causes as well. The damaging noise doesn't have to be from a workplace; in our society, we are all exposed to excessive levels of noise fairly frequently, e.g., traffic noise, vacuum cleaners, loud movies and music, hair dryers, lawn mowers and power tools, etc. Exposure to such noise does a little bit of damage to the inner ear each time, and over the course of 10, 20 or more years, it can add up to a significant degree of hearing loss and tinnitus.

If the tinnitus is the result of an underlying medical problem, once that problem is treated and resolved the tinnitus may also resolve. For people whose tinnitus is the result of noise exposure and hearing loss, there is no "cure" per se for the tinnitus, just as there is usually no cure for sensorineural (inner ear) hearing loss. However, there are a number of steps that can be taken to relieve tinnitus to at least some degree.

First of all, a number of things are known to make tinnitus worse, even if they are not its primary cause. These include the "usual suspects" in health-related problems:
1) alcohol,
2) nicotine,
3) caffeine (from any source),
4) high salt intake (from any source),
5) stress, and
6) high doses of aspirin.
Either cutting back on your intake or reducing your exposure to these products may produce some relief from your tinnitus.

Certain environmental sounds, especially "white noise," often will provide some "masking" effect on the tinnitus. Such white noise includes, for example, the static from a radio speaker, or a fan motor running. These can be especially useful when trying to fall asleep at night.

There are also masking devices that can be custom made for your ear that will produce varying levels of white noise. These "tinnitus maskers" have volume controls so that you can adjust the output if the level of your tinnitus changes during the course of the day.

For the great majority of people with tinnitus who also have some degree of hearing loss, a hearing aid will often provide a dual benefit. Not only will it make communication easier, but the amplification of soft environmental sounds, and/or the low level of white noise produced by the circuitry, will often noticeably reduce the perception of tinnitus.

For people who try all of the above and still have significant complaints of tinnitus, a newer treatment method may help.

Complete hearing testing for ages four to adult provided by a certified clinical audiologist. Evaluations include measures of hearing sensitivity for air and bone conducted sounds, measures of speech discrimination ability and, when necessary, assessment of the middle ear function (impedance audiometry), and special testing to determine the location of dysfunction.

The physician's evaluation of the dizzy patient often requires assessment of the vestibular system. Electronystagmography testing is electrical recording of eye movements caused by positional or caloric stimulation of the inner ear balance structures. The test battery will identify the presence of dizziness or imbalance due to unequal neural messages to the vestibular system.

We can make colorful, floatable, custom earmolds for those who need to keep water out of their ear canals, while swimming or in the shower; and also custom earmolds for noise protection for those who use power tools, shoot guns, or work in loud environments.

Cerumen, or ear wax, is a common condition among the general population. If cerumen is allowed to build up, further hearing complications are almost a certainty.

Failure to remove excessive cerumen may lead to a perforated eardrum, dizziness, bleeding, infection, and all around pain.
Also known as ear wax. Cerumen can block you from getting sound to your eardrum. It's important to keep your ears clean of debris.

If you find yourself turning up the volume more and more, it's a good time to have your ears checked and determine if you have a blockage caused by excessive ear wax...or a more severe hearing issue.

If you're bothered by excessive earwax, it's important to have a professional check out the situation to get back to healthy hearing.

With our real ear measurement system, we can now measure and record the actual performance of your hearing aids while they are in your ears. This computer analysis helps us to verify that your hearing aid prescription is precisely matched to your individual requirements.

Hearing Aids - A "Hearing Aid Evaluation" begins with a comprehensive audiological evaluation. The audiological evaluation will determine, at a minimum, how well you hear at certain frequencies ("pitches"), what your most comfortable and uncomfortable speech loudness levels are, and how well you understand speech. The audiological evaluation will also help rule out possible underlying medical conditions that may have caused or contributed to your hearing loss.

Assuming that a medical referral is not indicated, you will then meet with one of our audiologists, Joseph M. Fulfs, Au.D. or Susan Calantoni, MS. They will begin by explaining to you the nature and consequences of your hearing loss. They will then question you as to your specific listening needs - i.e., what listening environments are you most often in, which ones cause you the most difficulty, and where you would most like to be able to improve your ability to carry on a conversation. They will also ask you some pertinent personal questions, such as how well you handle smaller objects, and how comfortable you are with technology. After gathering this information, they will be able to make some specific recommendations to you, which may include amplification (hearing instruments), assistive listening devices (e.g., amplified telephones), and/or suggestions to make communication situations more "listener friendly."

If hearing instruments are recommended, we offer a very wide selection, including digital and analog, from almost all major manufacturers. The primary manufacturers we use, because we believe they offer the best technology and/or value, are GN ReSound, Oticon, Unitron and Widex, all industry leaders. We also are able to fit hearing aids from Audio D, AHS/Interton, Bernafon, AVR, Finetone, Magnatone, Micro-tech, Phonak, Qualitone, Rexton, Siemens, Sonic Innovations, Sound ID, Starkey, and United Hearing Systems.

The only major brands we cannot dispense are Beltone and Miracle Ear. These brands are sold only through company-owned offices or franchises (Miracle Ear), or through dispensing offices that have an exclusive distributor agreement with Beltone (i.e., these offices rarely sell any brand other than Beltone). Please be assured that the manufacturers we use are AT LEAST the equal to Beltone and Miracle Ear in terms of technology and quality (actually, in terms of high-end digital hearing instruments, they are superior technologically, in our opinion); they just do not usually advertise directly to the public, and so their names are not as well known.

Because we offer products from so many different manufacturers, we believe that we are better able to find a product that will be the best solution for your specific hearing needs, and yet still be within your budget.

Please be aware that in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, state law mandates a trial period of at least 30 days for hearing instrument purchases. You pay for the instruments the day we put them in your ears, and you then have a minimum of 30 days to evaluate them. During those 30 days, a patient typically returns to our office at least once or twice to have various adjustments made to the instrument, either to the acoustic output or to the physical fit. At the end of the trial period, you have several options. Of course, if you're perfectly satisfied with the hearing instruments, you would keep them. You may, however, decide that you weren't completely satisfied with them in certain situations, and that you would like to try a higher-end product. In that case, you would pay the difference in price, and you would get a new trial period with the new instruments. At the end of a trial period, whether its the first one, a second one, or even a third one, you always have the option of returning one or both hearing instruments for a refund.

Repair All Makes - We can get your hearing instruments repaired quickly at a reasonable cost, and, if we have done a recent audiological evaluation for you, we can give you a loaner product to use until yours come back.

In most cases, we are able to have the original manufacturer do the repair. In some cases, this may not be possible (e.g., if the hearing instrument is considered obsolete by the original manufacturer, or if the hearing instrument was made by Beltone or Miracle Ear, who deal only with their own franchisees or contracted distributors). However, even in these cases, we will often be able to repair the hearing instrument(s) by using an "all-make" repair lab. However, in these cases, we cannot guarantee that the hearing instrument will come back sounding EXACTLY like it did when it was new or when it was last working well; there may be some small, usually subtle changes in the sound quality (sometimes for the better, we might add).

Repairs for hearing instruments generally come with at least a 6 month warranty (a 12 month warranty can also be obtained). The exception is for certain hearing instruments more than 5 year old, in cases when the original manufacturer may offer only a 3 month warranty. These repair warranties cover any internal breakdown, unless determined to be the result of gross negligence. The warranties do NOT cover physical damage to the shell of the hearing instrument or loss of the hearing instrument (however, warranties are available for loss and damage). Please call us if you have any questions regarding repairs.