An audiologist is a tertiary qualified healthcare professional who specialises primarily in all things hearing and balance, although services can also extend to wax management and removal, auditory processing assessment and rehabilitation, hearing protection, tinnitus rehabilitation, communication training, and vestibular rehabilitation - just to name a few.

An audiologist who completed their training and qualifications in Australia will have spent a minimum of five-years at university, including a two-years Masters Degree in clinical audiology from one of the seven accredited programs in Australia. Following this formal education, a further twelve-month clinical internship must also be completed under supervision.

More information on audiologists can be found here:

What is an Audiologist? - Audiology Australia

Audiology qualifications and training - Audiology Australia

The Italian word 'solo' translates to 'only' in English. It's used to indicate exclusivity. At Solo Audiology and Hearing, this represents meaning on multiple levels:

• We are specialists in audiology and hearing - and we're not pretending to be anything else. We're not going to try and also be your podiatrist, optometrist or dentist. We know what we do as audiologists - we are experts at it, and we provide an unmatched audiological service.

• Your hearing is our only focus. We are only focussed on you and your hearing and communication needs. Making this our only focus means that you are the priority and we are only here to help you.

• When you visit Solo Audiology and Hearing, it's only about you and your experience. We prioritise a boutique service-based approach with extended appointment times to ensure that you receive all of the help you need.

You may need a hearing assessment for a number of different reasons. Some reasons may include:

• You've noticed some hearing difficulty for yourself - hearing in noise is becoming difficult, you need the TV or radio louder than before, you're struggling with understanding speech, speech isn't as clear, or maybe it's been long overdue!

• Your family or friends have noticed and suggested that you have a hearing assessment - family, friends and loved ones are often first to notice.

• Your doctor has recommended it - there are many reasons why your doctor might refer you for a hearing assessment. They might've noticed you struggling to hear or you may have presented with tinnitus or a possible middle ear pathology. Sometimes certain medications can have the known side-effect of hearing loss, and so they may want to monitor your hearing.

• Health check! We get our eyes and teeth checked regularly, we have our bloods tested - and all sorts of other medical tests. As with most things, early intervention is key and we really do need to be proactive about checking our hearing and ear health as well. Taking initiative to get educated on if you already have some degree of hearing loss, if you're at risk of developing hearing loss, or learning if there is anything you can do to protect your hearing and ear health are all responsible and proactive measures that you can take yourself.

Nope! A referral isn't needed for a hearing assessment, however, if you are private (non-pensioner) you can get a referral from your GP if you wish to receive a partial Medicare rebate.

This largely depends on the type of hearing loss, which requires a clinical diagnosis through a comprehensive audiological assessment.

However, generally speaking, depending on the root cause of the hearing loss treatment options can include things like hearing devices (e.g. hearing aids, assistive listening devices), medical intervention (e.g. grommets, surgery), ear wax removal, auditory training (apps, structured exercises/activities), and communication strategies (counselling on ideal listening situations and how to best control or utilise your acoustic environment).

It is typical that you would be prescribed a package of the above tailored to your unique needs.

If you are receiving an Australian pension, you may be eligible for fully subsidised hearing services and hearing aids from the Australian Government's Hearing Services Program. If you would prefer a hearing aid that isn't offered with a full subsidy, you also have the freedom to choose a partially subsidised hearing aid and pay the difference.

Check your Hearing Services Program eligibility here: HSP Eligibility Checker

Often, hearing can deteriorate at such a slow rate that we might not really notice it ourselves at first. It is in these situations, that our loved ones are the first to notice it instead. They might realise that you're missing out or withdrawing from conversations, that you are misunderstanding them, the TV is getting louder, or maybe that you've stopped wanting to go out to social events.

The best thing you can do if your family raises this, is to come in for a comprehensive hearing assessment with an audiologist. At Solo Audiology and Hearing, we also always encourage you to bring your loved ones along - a family-centered approach can help yield much improved understanding and clinical outcomes. Additionally, communication is not a single-player game, so it helps to have a communication partner present to understand how they can also help.

Yes, a partial Medicare rebate is possible for a hearing assessment. However, if you'd like a rebate, a referral is required from your GP.

Private health insurance companies and policies differ, so its always best to check your own personal cover. However, typically most funds do not cover services but do often provide some rebate for hearing aids.

Short answer - Yes, absolutely!

Long answer - Like all technology, hearing aids have certainly come a long way since the old analogue devices you may be thinking about. Modern hearing aids have not only entered into the digital world, but they are well and truly in the advanced AI world too. These days, you can expect hearing aids to be able to link-up with your other devices, stream audio and phone calls, have additional app control, remote support options, utilise AI to discretely analyse and classify your environments for the optimal sound profile, and even use AI to help denoise your environment and make speech clearer - all of this and much, much more.

The outcome: take as much advanced control as you'd like to utilise these tools, or in-fact quite the opposite - they can work as automatic as possible so that you don't need to fiddle around with them at all.

Fun fact: AI has been used in hearing aid technology for as long as 20+ years!

Maybe! When wax completely occludes the ear canal, this causes an obstruction for environmental sounds to make their way to the ear drum and beyond. This type of hearing loss is known as a conductive hearing loss.

At Solo Audiology and Hearing, we can assess your ear canal health using video otoscopy and then if required, remove ear wax. We use the safest and most comfortable method - microsuction, and often this will be used together with a range of other strategies to effectively remove the wax from your ears.

There may be a couple of reasons for this - but it's crucial to get your hearing assessed immediately. When you call for the hearing test, it's very important to mention that there has been a sudden change - the audiologist will fit you in. If a sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is detected, you will then be referred to emergency services for immediate treatment.

If you're unable to see an audiologist straight away, you should go straight to the emergency department instead for immediate assessment and treatment. If it is indeed a SSNHL, early and immediate medical treatment is required to improve the chances of recovery.

Microsuction is a form of ear wax removal, where specialist equipment used to gently suck or vacuum out the ear wax. This is a preferred method of wax removal as it is safe, comfortable, gentle, and dry.

Yes! You can click the 'BOOK ONLINE' button at the top of our webpage, or you can head to the Contact tab to find the same link.

You can book most types of appointments online, however, we encourage you to enter as much detail as possible so we can change/correct the appointment type if needed.