Find the answers to the following questions below:

Why See an Audiologist?
Will Wearing a Hearing Device Make Me Look Old?
What If My Hearing Isn't "Bad Enough" to Need a Hearing Device?
Should I Consider Buying a Hearing Device Online?
Are Hearing Devices Expensive?
What Is Auditory Processing?
What is an Auditory Processing Disorder?
What Causes an Auditory Processing Disorder?
What Are the Symptoms of an Auditory Processing Disorder?
Where Should I Go To Find More Information on Auditory Processing Disorders?

Are hearing devices expensive?

Phone: (401) 585-5439

Fax: (401) 589-5639

Address: 1054 Reservoir Avenue Cranston, RI 02910

For patients with hearing loss, hearing devices are a long-term investment that will improve your overall health and your quality of life. These medical devices are essential for improving communication. The cost associated with hearing devices reflects research, manufacturing costs, and professional service fees. With good care, a set of hearing devices will last several years (the industry average is 5-7 years). There are many devices to choose from.

All hearing devices purchased at Rhode Island APD & Hearing Solutions include: a comprehensive hearing evaluation, a personalized hearing device evaluation and demonstration, a professional hearing aid fitting and orientation, several follow-up appointments for fine tuning of your device, a warranty (both for repair and for loss or damage), and a one year supply of batteries. We do offer payment plans to help spread out the cost over time.

Everyone's hearing loss and listening needs are different. We will work with you to determine if a hearing device is needed and what you can expect a hearing device to do for you.

Why See an Audiologist?

Hearing loss can occur at any time, at any age. In fact, most people with hearing loss (65%) are younger than age 65. There are 6 million people in the U.S. ages 18-44 with hearing loss, and around 1.5 million are school age.

Will Wearing a Hearing Device Make Me look Old?

Audiologists hold masters or doctoral degrees from accredited universities and have special training in the prevention, identification, assessment and non-medical treatment of hearing disorders. Audiologists are required to complete a full time externship year and pass a national competency examination. Audiologists are the most qualified professionals to perform hearing tests, refer patients for medical treatment, and provide hearing solutions and services.

For More Information on Auditory Processing Disorders visit:

Frequently asks “huh?” or “what?” and often needs information repeated
Acts as if a hearing loss is present, despite passing hearing screenings
Delayed speech and language abilities.
Confuses words that sound similar (cap/cat).
Difficulty following multiple step directions.
Misinterprets questions.
Highly distractible, especially in noisy situations.
Seems to “tune out” others “daydream” or be “in a world of his/her own.”
Overly sensitive to loud sounds (fireworks, vacuum cleaner, blender, etc.)
May sing off-tune or have a monotone voice.
Has poor social communication skills or difficulty making and/or keeping friends.
Difficulty understanding riddles and jokes.
Misinterprets sarcasm or tone of voice.
Poor spelling skills.
Difficulty with reading comprehension.
Slow to respond when asked a question.
Difficulty taking notes in class.

Many of these characteristics are often misinterpreted as behavior problems, attention difficulties, adjustment difficulties, and/or immaturity, when in fact there may be a significant auditory processing problem.

What are the symptoms of an Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)?

How sound information is interpreted depends on our auditory processing skills which are developed during the critical periods of learning language during the first three years of life. This is when the brain is most prepared to map information from sounds or spoken words onto its language centers. Although there are many factors often associated with APD, the cause of APD is often unknown.

The following are risk factors associated with APD:

History of chronic ear infections - Children with a history of frequent ear infections are at a greater risk for APD because speech often sounds muffled and distorted when the middle ear is full of fluid. This can lead to inaccurate or incomplete coding of speech sounds.
Premature birth – Can result in a delay in the development of the central auditory nervous system
Extremely high fever (over 103 degrees) as a very young child.
Language delayed – Early signs of APD often appear at a young age when a child’s attention and language skills may be below average compared to other children of the same age.
Hyperbilirubinemia (jaundice)
Family history
Brain injury

What causes an Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)?

Auditory Processing Disorders (APD), also referred to as Central Auditory Processing Disorders (CAPD), are deficits in information processing of sound not attributed to hearing or intelligence impairment. To put it simply, it is the inability to attend to, discriminate, recognize or comprehend what is heard, even though hearing and intelligence are normal. APDs are more pronounced when listening to distorted speech, or in poor acoustic environments such as the classroom.

Children with auditory processing disorders frequently have academic difficulties. APD hinders the child’s ability to receive, organize, and analyze auditory information and therefore negatively affects their academic success. Students with hearing loss have increased difficulty hearing in listening situations with competing noise sources (like a classroom) even with normal hearing thresholds.

What is an Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)?

Auditory processing refers to how we make sense out of information we receive through our auditory system – basically what we do with what we hear. This information is affected by our ability to hear, our knowledge of the language used in the message, our previous experiences with the situation, how we think about what we have heard, and the surrounding environment.

What is Auditory Processing?

National Coalition on Auditory Processing Disorders
National Center for Learning Disabilities
Learning Disabilities Online
Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Should I consider buying a hearing device online?

What if My hearing isn't "bad enough" to need a hearing device?

Call Us: (401) 585-5439

A hearing device is a medical device. It should not be purchased off a shelf or online to be worn right out of the box. A hearing device should be selected and fit following a comprehensive audiologic evaluation. When you choose to work with an audiologist, you will receive personalized professional care and services. We will take the time to help you select the correct hearing device for you and be sure that device is properly programmed for your listening needs.