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Balance and Hearing Center

About the Balance and Hearing Center

Hearing Test

Hearing loss, balance disorders and ear disease significantly affect your quality of life. Most people over the age of 65 have some hearing loss. By age 80, almost everyone does. The elderly are not the only ones at risk. The most common cause of hearing loss in children is otitis media (middle ear infection), a disorder that predominantly affects infants and young children. A substantial number of hearing impairments are caused by environmental factors such as noise, drugs and toxins.

Balance disorders are the number one health complaint of patients over the age of 70. Less than 10 percent of patients with balance and vestibular disorders are ever evaluated by a specialist (otologist, neuro-otologist, audiologist or neurologist). Vestibular disorders cause 50 percent of falls experienced by the elderly.

Relief for these conditions can be found at the Jefferson Balance and Hearing Center. Rated among the best in the nation for Ear, Nose and Throat by U.S.News & World Report, our Center features a team of physicians and doctors of audiology that offers comprehensive evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation as well as dispensing state-of-the-art hearing aid technology, cochlear implants, implantable devices and custom ear molds.

Most recently, Jefferson offers a new FDA-approved hearing aid called the SoundBite™ Hearing System that uses bone conduction to transmit sound through the teeth. The hearing system is not worn during sleep. Dental work or alterations to the teeth are not required.

Jefferson is also a provider of the invisible hearing device called the Lyric®. It can be worn 24/7 for up to four months at a time; no need to remove it before showering, exercising and sleeping. The patients that we have fitted with the Lyric have been extremely satisfied.

Evaluations and Diagnosis

Evaluations to determine the exact cause of your problem are performed by otolaryngologists (ears, nose and throat physicians) and audiologists to rule out any infection, injury or other medical condition. These can include:

  • hearing tests,
  • dizziness and balance testing,
  • videonystagmography (VNG) and
  • auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing.

Once a diagnosis is determined, your physician may provide a range of personalized treatments that have been proven safe and effective in controlling most balance disorders. Some conditions can be controlled with medication or a change in diet, while others require surgical intervention. Physical therapy and exercise may be added to the treatment plan for dizziness, and physical therapists of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine are specially trained in treating patients with balance and dizziness complaints.
Help with Tinnitus

If you have tinnitus, there may be help. Our specialists in the Balance and Hearing Center were the first in Philadelphia to offer the FDA-cleared Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment. This therapy is proven to interact, interrupt and desensitize tinnitus by delivering a customized neural stimulus, embedded in clinically modified music.

The Jefferson Balance and Hearing Center is located at:
925 Chestnut Street
6th Floor 
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-955-6760