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How to Get Virtual Care

Adult residents (ages 18+) of Western North Carolina can see a UNC Health primary care provider for mild symptoms without an appointment through UNC Health Virtual Care Now free of charge for those impacted by Hurricane Helene. Using your camera- and microphone-enabled phone, tablet or computer, you can access convenient, secure and flexible care when you need it. Patients can get in line for Virtual Care Now through My UNC Chart. If you do not have a My UNC Chart account, you can easily get one when you get in line. Virtual services are available 6 AM – 10 PM, 7 days per week.

Audiology & Hearing Aids

When you have trouble hearing or keeping your balance, turn to the friendly, professional audiologists at UNC Surgical Specialists ENT. Work with a local provider dedicated to helping you more easily participate in conversations and activities you enjoy.

Why See an Audiologist?

Audiologists see people of all ages to diagnose and treat:

  • Balance disorders
  • Hearing loss
  • Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)

Coordinated Care

Count on your UNC Surgical Specialists ENT audiologist to work closely with your ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor to provide complete ear and balance care.

Hearing Tests & Treatments

Rely on your audiologist to figure out what type of hearing loss you have and how severe it is. Depending on your symptoms and needs, your provider may conduct:

  • Auditory brainstem response (ABR) test – Uses painless electrodes to measure brain wave activity in response to sounds
  • Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) test – Uses a small probe in your ear to detect how well your inner ear (cochlea) works
  • Pure-tone test – Reveals what volumes and pitches you can hear by asking you to listen and respond when you hear a sound
  • Speech test – Asks you listen to and then repeat a word the audiologist says

Help for Hearing Loss

Work with your care team to improve your ability to communicate with those around you and prevent additional hearing loss. Look to your audiologist for:

  • Hearing aids – Small electronic devices that makes some sounds louder
  • Hearing assistive technology – Devices that make it easier to hear or communicate without sound
  • Hearing conservation – Counseling that helps you understand how to protect your hearing
  • Hearing rehabilitation – Therapy that helps you build listening and speaking skills and live well with hearing loss
  • Tinnitus sound therapy and counseling – Treatment that improves how you perceive and react to tinnitus symptoms

Balance Disorder Care

Partner with your audiologist to figure out the cause of dizziness or other balance problems. During your appointment, your audiologist may:

  • Review your medical history
  • Ask you to describe your symptoms and when they happen
  • Conduct simple screening tests
  • Recommend in-depth tests, such as:
    • Electroneurography (ENoG) – Shows how impulses travel in your facial nerve
    • Electrocochleography (ECoG) – Measures your inner ear’s response to sound
    • Videonystagmography (VNG) – Analyze your eye movements

Repositioning for Vertigo

If you experience benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), a series of simple, very exact head movements may relieve your symptoms. This is called repositioning treatment. It moves small calcium crystals out of your inner ear so they stop causing symptoms. Trust your UNC Surgical Specialists ENT audiologist for safe, effective repositioning treatments.

Individualized Balance Therapy

Your audiologist may recommend balance therapy from physical therapists at UNC Health Caldwell to improve your balance and keep you safe and active.

Make an Appointment

Call 828-757-6464 to schedule an appointment with an audiologist at UNC Surgical Specialists ENT.

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