Hearing Healthcare
in South Lake Tahoe
Hearing loss takes away our ability to connect with friends, communicate with family, and enjoy all the sweet sounds of life. We understand how debilitating hearing loss can be when left untreated. That’s why we offer the highest quality of care for patients of all ages. We offer diagnostic hearing tests in South Lake Tahoe for pediatrics and adults.
Adult Hearing Services
When we are born, one of the first tests we receive is a hearing test. Loss of hearing can be gradual and hearing screenings are recommended at least every 5 years. However, our hearing is taken for granted as we age and many of us do not receive a hearing test again until a problem already exists decades later. There are many causes for hearing loss including genetics, exposure to loud noise/music over time, head trauma, ear wax impaction or medications that are damaging to the ear. While a person may never know the exact reason for their hearing abilities, we do know that the older we get, the more we will experience hearing difficulties. By age 50, it is recommended to have your hearing tested annually. By age 60, the likelihood of hearing loss further increases.
Tahoe Family Hearing will get to know you through longer appointment times using objective and subjective tests to understand your overall communication needs. We will measure what you hear and how well you understand what you hear.
- Medical history/questionnaires
- Exam of outer ear (otoscopy)
- Exam of middle ear (tympanometry and acoustic reflexes)
- Exam of inner ear (otoacoustic emissions)
- Behavioral assessment (pure tone and speech audiometry)
- Extended high frequency audiometry as needed (tinnitus test or at-risk)
Pediatric Hearing Services
At Tahoe Family Hearing Clinic, we welcome all families to our space with colorful artwork, toys, and friendly staff. Dr. Jenelle Sandy is empathetic, knowledgeable, patient, and highly skilled in connecting with children and their families.
No age is too young for pediatric assessments! We assess newborns, toddlers, school-age children, teenagers, and special populations using games and activities that pique your child’s interests and with your best interests as a caregiver in mind.
We offer a wide range of pediatric hearing services, including:
- Medical history/questionnaires
- Exam of outer ear (otoscopy)
- Exam of middle ear (tympanometry and acoustic reflexes)
- Exam of inner ear (otoacoustic emissions)
- Behavioral assessment (pure tone and speech audiometry)
- Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA): 5 months of age to 2 years of age
- Conditioned Play Audiometry (CPA): 2 years of age to 5 years of age
- Conventional-Modified Audiometry: A variation or combination of dependent on patient’s abilities
Hearing Aid Services
At Tahoe Family Hearing Clinic, we’re not just fitting hearing aids, we’re fitting your lifestyle. We want to learn what you’re passionate about, what your day looks like, who you want to communicate with and what you want to hear. Questionnaires and testing will guide us to understand your hearing needs. We will be able to best match the hearing aid company, make and model to your lifestyle needs. Devices are programmed using real-ear speech mapping measurements to verify hearing aids are programmed for your ears only. We also offer a range of accessories to amplify your hearing experience in all environments.
- Hearing aid evaluations
- Hearing aid education, dispensing, and programming
- Ongoing hearing aid maintenance and cleaning
- Tinnitus management
- Assistive listening devices
- Communication and advocacy strategies
- Auditory training and listening exercises
Hearing Protection
Loud noise exposure is one of the most common causes of hearing loss in individuals of all ages. It’s important to protect your hearing to prevent irreversible hearing loss. At our family hearing center, we work with patients to fit them with custom earplugs and earmolds for advanced hearing protection that best matches their everyday needs.
We offer a variety of custom hearing protection that we can make, including (but not limited to):
- Hunter’s earplugs
- Sleep plugs
- Musician earplugs
- Swim/pediatric plugs
- Occupational earplugs
- Motorsports earplugs
Cochlear Implants
A cochlear implant assessment may be sought if hearing aids no longer provide adequate access to sounds. We provide the following cochlear implant services for patients of all ages:
- Candidacy assessments including complete diagnostic analysis
- Collaboration with the cochlear implant surgeon/facility and multi-disciplinary approach to ensure optimal success
- Regularly scheduled follow-up appointments at close intervals to ease the patient into hearing with the cochlear implant and gain audibility and understanding at their pace
- Activation and programming
- Parts replacement