The Rush Approach to Pediatric Audiology Services

Treating childhood hearing loss starts with getting the right diagnosis. Our pediatric audiologists are experts at working with infants and kids of all ages, and they use engaging evaluation techniques to help ensure your child has a positive experience.

We focus on what’s best for your child, getting the answers you need and involving you in each step of your child’s testing and diagnosis. After the diagnosis, we offer every level of care for hearing loss at Rush. 

Our audiology services team specializes in helping your child hear better and communicate more effectively. We also work closely with our nationally ranked ear, nose and throat, or ENT, providers and our pediatric cochlear implant program to provide more advanced treatments when necessary. 

Rush Excellence in Pediatric Audiology Care

• Leading pediatric diagnostic technology: Our advanced diagnostic tools are designed for children, featuring activities that engage them during testing. By making the tests fun, we can more accurately evaluate your child’s hearing, often with fewer follow-up appointments. 
• A team approach to your child’s care: Working together, we collaborate with pediatricians, pediatric ENT providers, speech-language pathologists, early interventionists, school audiologists and other health care professionals to provide an accurate diagnosis and the best treatment options for your child’s hearing needs. 
• Expert care at a teaching hospital: All of our audiologists have doctoral degrees, relevant state licenses and clinical certification through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. In addition to this training, our audiologists also teach, which means they are current with the most effective tests, treatments and therapies for hearing loss. 
• Nationally ranked ENT program partner: The ENT program at Rush University Medical Center is consistently ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Rush University’s audiology graduate program is also ranked No. 8 in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
• Pediatric cochlear implant program: Rush University Medical Center’s expert cochlear implant team specializes in pediatrics. If our audiologists recommend cochlear implants — devices that are surgically implanted to directly stimulate the auditory nerve to improve hearing — your child will visit with a Rush otologist. This board-certified physician and ear expert will place the internal part of the cochlear implant before an audiologist places and activates the external piece. We offer the latest advances in cochlear implant placement and care, specialized for our youngest patients. 
• Empowering young patients: As your child matures, we begin to involve them more in their own care plans. By empowering children at a young age, we teach kids — often as young as 7 or 8 years old — to understand their hearing loss, to advocate for themselves and to share their care responsibilities. Although child hearing loss requires full family involvement, we find that the more children are involved, the more confident they are in managing their needs. 
• Care close to home: We offer pediatric audiology appointments at convenient locations in Chicago, Oak Park and Oak Brook.