Audiograms
When making an appointment with our providers, or even during your visit, you may be asked by our staff to obtain something called an “audiogram.” An audiogram is an overall evaluation of the middle and inner ear function—which are things that we cannot see or evaluate simply by looking in your ears.An audiogram is sometimes known to people as “a fancy hearing test” but to us ENTs it is MUCH more than that. It tells us if your ear drum movement, middle ear bones (the ossicular chain), and inner ear nerve function is working properly or not. We use this test to help determine the diagnosis for the symptoms you are seeing us for. If you are asked to get an audiogram, know that we are asking for it because it is something that we need to help care for you and maximize your appointment with our providers.
Audiologists In Our Area:
Accucare Audiology – Sarah Nelson
Essentia Health – Whitnea Engelbrecht
Cuyuna Regional Medical Center – Kris Schmidt
In Office Ear Tubes
Each year nearly 1 million children will undergo a routine procedure to place ear tubes for their persistent ear infections. That equates to roughly 7% of children in the US having tubes inserted before the age of 3. Most commonly, these are performed in the operating room setting and always involve the use of general anesthesia.
Advanced Specialty Associates is among the first in the U.S. to offer an alternative to traditional ear tube surgery. This new approach is called the Hummingbird®. The Hummingbird® effectively eliminates the need for general anesthesia and moves this routine procedure safely to the office setting using a topical anesthetic to numb the ear drum.
This new procedure helps you avoid many of the risks and hassles associated with traditional ear tube placement in the OR setting:
- No General Anesthesia
- No COVID Testing
- No Pre-operative Testing
- No Fasting
- No 3-4 Hour Stay
- No Recovery Room Stay
- No Additional OR Costs
This new care setting also enables parents to stay at their child’s side to comfort them and keep them feeling safe during the procedure. Hummingbird does not separate you from your child and allows you to participate in this ear treatment, and we know how important that is to you.
Recent studies have shown a 99% success rate with most Hummingbird® ear tube placements taking about 5 minutes to complete. 97% of parents would also recommend the Hummingbird® after receiving it for their child.
We are excited to be the first to bring this novel therapy to Central Minnesota and offer the Hummingbird® to you and your family. You and your child now have an option to choose simple, safe and cost-effective healthcare without the hassle of the operating room.
To learn more, please call our office at 218-454-8888 to schedule an appointment and to see if your child is a candidate for this new procedure.