Today Dr. McElveen was performing surgeries at a hospital that I was not cleared for, so I spent the day with the audiologists instead. While Shadowing Kate, Leah, and Nicolle I saw a large variety of reasons for a hearing test to be performed. Each hearing test started with just beeps being sent to the patients ears (airway test), but then a bone conduction test was done to see if the results were stable with the first test. If these were stable with one another, then the conclusion was drawn that it was a nerve issue, but if one of them was higher than the other, than it was just one of the issues tested for.
The most interesting case I saw today connected dots that were formed yesterday when I observed Dr. McElveen place a cochlear implant in a patient’s ear in surgery. This case was the evaluation of a patient to see if they were a candidate for a cochlear implant. This was the longest appointment of the day, and all of the tests that were run were standardized and used to prove to the insurance company that the surgery was necessary for the patient’s health and well-being. Basically, the clinic fitted a set of hearing aids to the maximum level for their hearing and the test was performed with the hearing aids. If they failed the test, then that proved to insurance that regular hearing aids to their full potential provide no support to the patient and that the surgery is necessary. The patient today failed the test, so then Nicolle brought them back to her office and talked to them about the process and dedication it required. Sitting in on this consult helped me connect the dots because of all of the information that was presented and amount of tests run and why the tests are run. I look forward to my last day at the clinic tomorrow!