AUSTIN (KXAN) — Dell Children’s is about to open a new hearing center which will include diagnoses, treatment and speech therapy all under one roof.
The new center will be open on Monday, Sept. 17, and it is not only for kids, but adults, too.
“Part of this is really that we have the brain power of incredible cochlear implant audiologist, that we have audio verbal therapist, speech therapists, all collaborating with a surgeon to create something that is uniquely kind of in tune to each family,” explained Dr. Corrie Roehm Director of the Hearing Center at Dell Children’s “… every step of the way our team is able to help the hearing-impaired reach their full potential.”
Right now families are having to go to as many as three different places for treatment and therapy.
“It would be great to come to one place,” said Kristen Scully “… in one office.” Scully’s son Ethan, 3, was born deaf. After his first birthday, he got cochlear implants and started speech therapy, which meant weekly appointments across the city.
“It’s blown my mind just how well he’s doing and without the cochlear implants, it just wouldn’t be the same success that he’s having now,” explained Scully.
The new location will also mean the addition of eight more staff members. Dr. Roehm says they are detecting hearing loss better now than 20 years ago through the newborn screening program.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says five out of every 1,000 children are impacted by hearing loss.
The Hearing Center is located in the Strictly Pediatric Surgery Center at 1301 Barbara Jordan Blvd.
Dell Children’s is part of Ascension, the largest nonprofit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system.
