What to Expect at Your First Appointment at the Ear and Hearing Center

You want your child to have the very best of everything, so when they experience hearing loss, your first thought may be how you can make their life better. At Cincinnati Children’s, your family is in good hands. We can help you find treatments and solutions that will enable your child to experience the world in the best way possible.

At this first appointment, we want to determine the cause of your child's hearing loss and work with you on a personalized care plan that outlines next steps.

Making an Appointment at the Ear and Hearing Center

We want it to be easy for you to get the care your child needs. You can call us to self-refer to our program, or your child's pediatrician, audiologist or another provider can refer you. If your child has a confirmed hearing loss, we can move forward with scheduling an appointment. If permanent loss hasn't been confirmed, you'll need to schedule a hearing test with an audiologist.

Before Your Appointment

Our nurse coordinator may call you if your child's medical records are not available in Epic. We'll let you know exactly what information we need before your appointment.

On the Day of Your Visit to the Ear and Hearing Center

Arriving At Your Appointment

The Ear and Hearing Center is located at the Burnet Campus of Cincinnati Children’s. Ear and Hearing Clinics can occur at a number of our outpatient centers too.

Please arrive about 30 minutes ahead of time. This allows you 15 minutes to park and walk from the parking garage to our clinic, and 15 minutes to check in at our front desk. If you are running late, please contact us.

At Your Appointment

Your first appointment at our clinic will last up to an hour. During this time, we’ll review your child’s health history, perform a physical exam, go over test results and possibly conduct hearing or lab tests. Your child may see an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor, or ENT), audiologist and nurse.

Our providers at the Ear and Hearing Clinic participate in the most current, innovative treatment options for children with hearing loss. If there is an appropriate research opportunity for your child, we'll let you know either at this first visit or when we are providing the results of your child's evaluation. By bringing your child to Cincinnati Children's, you are ensuring they have access to the best care and treatment options available.

After Your Visit to the Ear and Hearing Center

You will receive an "After Visit Summary" at the end of your appointment. It will include important details about any upcoming appointments. It also will include contact information for your child's care team.

If we determine that your child needs to see any other specialists or have additional testing, we'll let you know during or after your appointment.