Private children’s audiology service

Our innovative, family-focused audiology service provides comprehensive hearing services for children of all ages, from newborn babies to young adults including children with complex needs.

Our hospital service is based at:

Children and Young People’s Audiology Centre, 2nd floor, Staircase C, South Wing, St Thomas’ Hospital, London, SE1 7EH

Children’s hearing assessments

Your child’s initial hearing assessment will take between 45 and 60 minutes for pre-school/school-age children and 90 to 120 minutes for infant assessments.

Our paediatric audiologists offer gentle, age-appropriate assessments individual to your child. At each appointment we aim to perform:

  • clinical history
  • otoscopy (looking in the ears)
  • tympanometry (a middle ear check of congestion or glue ear)
  • otoacoustic emission (an automated check of inner ear health)
  • age appropriate hearing tests.

We will also discuss the results with you during the appointment and afterwards we will write a Clinical Appointment Report for your records.

Hearing tests for newborn babies

For infants (0-3 months) the most appropriate test is an Auditory Brainstem Response test.  For more information about this hearing assessment, please watch our video about your baby’s first hearing test.

Hearing tests for preschool age children

Most preschool aged children are seen by two audiologists.

For children aged approximately 7 months to 2.5 years we use a test called Visual Reinforcement Audiometry.  During this test we teach your child to react to sounds by turning their head towards a reward, usually a picture of a familiar TV character.  We then adjust the types and volume of the sounds that we play to determine their hearing levels.

For children aged approximately 2.5 to 5 years we use a test called Play Audiometry. During this test we teach your child to perform a game-based task in response to a sound e.g. throw a ball or stack a cup. We then adjust the types and volume of the sounds that we play to determine their hearing levels.   For more information on how to prepare your child for this type of test, please watch our video about practicing for a hearing test.

We often use headphones to find out more about your child’s ears so it is helpful for you to practice using headphones with your child at home before your appointment with us.

If your child has any favourite toys, games or television shows, please let us know as we may be able to use these during the appointment.

Clinics for school age children

School aged children will be seen by one audiologist. Usually we will ask your child to wear headphones and press a button when they hear a sound, this test is called Pure Tone Audiometry.

You may find it useful to talk with your child about their hearing before the appointment to help them think of anything they may want to tell us, or any questions they may want to ask.

All children’s hearing tests are dependent on the co-operation and attention of the child.  Whilst our expert team are very experienced in performing children’s hearing tests it may not always be possible to perform a complete hearing assessment during one appointment and we may recommend a follow up appointment to complete testing.

Custom swimming ear plugs

For children who are prone to ear infections, have grommets or have ear drum perforations, custom swimming ear plugs will ensure that their ears stay dry and healthy.

To create a custom swimming ear plug we will need to take an impression of your child’s ear.  This involves an audiologist first looking in their ear before placing a small sponge in their ear and then syringing some putty into their ear.  The putty will take a couple of minutes to set before being removed.  If you have requested custom swimming ear plugs for both ears, we will repeat the procedure for the second ear.

Using the impression of your child’s ear a specialist lab will create the custom swimming ear plug in your requested colour and you will receive this in the post.

For more information about making ear moulds and to help prepare your child, please watch our video https://youtu.be/10OnzFKzI8E.

This procedure is dependent on the co-operation of the child and requires their ears to be clear of wax.  Whilst our expert team are very experienced in creating custom swimming ear plugs it may not always be possible to do so.

Audiology Team

Our clinical team is made up of over 20 experienced specialist paediatric audiologists and is managed by:

  • Kerri Farah – Head of children’s audiology and the newborn hearing screening
  • Keiran Joseph – Clinical lead

Private children's audiology prices

The following prices are the cost of assessments for self-pay children’s audiology patients.

Pre-school age hearing assessment

£305

Over six months of age.

School age hearing assessment

£240

5-18 years.

Comprehensive infant assessment

£635

Auditory brainstem response testing under natural sleep (<3 months).

Otoacoustic emissions testing

£55

An automated test of inner ear health.

Speech testing

£55

A type of hearing test using speech sounds.

Acoustic reflex testing

£55

A test of a muscle reflex in the ear.

Swimming ear plug

£60

Single ear plug.

Swimming ear plugs

£80

Pair of ear plugs.

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