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If you have any questions for our Audiology Department please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Audiology
We have a dedicated team of Audiologist who are based on site and provide support to students and their hearing and equipment.
Audiology
The Audiology department currently consists of an Educational Audiologist, an Audiology Technician and a Link TA. We work with all the teaching and residential care staff across the school to ensure that all students are optimally aided to enable them to access fully and learn effectively in the classroom. All students receive an Audiological review, with a hearing test as part of the Annual review. Additional hearing tests and speech testing are done as and when needed.
Audiology supports morning checks completed in form times and operates an ‘open door’ policy for students to visit with any audiology issues. The Royal Berkshire Audiology clinic runs every Wednesday afternoon, except for the third of the month. Otoscopy and ear wax removal are also crucial in promoting good ear health. These are performed in Audiology. They enable ear infections to be detected swiftly and allow students to be optimally aided.
New ear moulds are made as required. Ear mould impressions are taken within the Audiology department. Students can choose from a range of colours. Keeping ear moulds clean is encouraged to reduce the risk of ear infections. The impressions are then sent to the Laboratories to be made into ear moulds. Audiology work with the Teachers of the Deaf in the classrooms to manage hearing aid wear and care. Our Audiology department is equipped with modern facilities.
Audiology also works closely with the students’ home Audiology departments and implant centres, as well as the Royal Berkshire Audiology clinic. This enables students’ personal amplification to be fixed, adjusted or replaced quickly. Several implant centres visit the school throughout the year. Other centres keep in touch via email, Teams or video/ phone calls. This means that students will not have to miss valuable learning time to visit a clinic.
Good connections with students’ local implant centres and partnering support enable replacement parts to be accessed quickly. If a student shows interest or decides to go ahead with having cochlear implants, Audiology will support in conjunction with Speech therapy and the implant centre. Students will be supported pre and post implant.
Support after Mary Hare
As students prepare for their next steps after Mary Hare, they take part in the Audiology Leavers’ Project, whether it is to go to university, college or work, our Audiology department offers guidance to all students on the support and equipment they need.
Amplification in the classroom
Every teaching room within the school has a Group aid system. This is unique to Mary Hare School and has been developed by the Audiology team. It enables all students to hear their peers and themselves as well as the class teacher. Thus, valuing pupil voice. Pupils have shared that they like hearing their peers’ contributions and that they like their teachers being able to hear their voices.
Our Group Aid consists of a Juno Soundfield system, an amplifier and audio streamers. Students are then able to connect their personal amplification (hearing aids, cochlear implants and BAHAs) wirelessly to the Group aid which enables them to hear at ear level. This gives a greater signal to noise ratio which enables them to hear better over distance.
All classrooms are set up with a set of microphones. Each student then has their own microphone to make contributions to the class discussion. Audiology manages the Group aid to ensure it is working optimally.
Ready to take the next step?
If you are interested in finding out more about us, you can get in touch with us to book in a visit and see our school in action.
Or, if you have visited us already, now is a good time to book in an assessment.