New Jersey Audiology Practice Offers Patients The Chance To Hear Again

HIGHLAND PARK, N.J. -- The Hearing Center has a lot to celebrate.

The central New Jersey-based audiology practice recently expanded its staff and services, making it one of the first practices in the Garden State to offer all audiological procedures and tests in a non-hospital setting. Now they are growing again.

Auditory processing evaluation expert Stefanie Perle, Au.D. will join the staff on November 15th, 2016. An accomplished audiologist, Perle specializes in identifying candidates for implantable devices, including cochlear implants, which restore an eligible patient’s ability to process sound. Put another way, Perle’s technique enables people to hear for the first time.

Perle specializes in identifying candidates for cochlear implants, surgically-inserted devices which bypass the non-functioning portions of the ear. Instead of amplifying sound like a traditional hearing aid, a cochlear implant contains parts that affect auditory processing, sending signals directly to the brain for interpretation.

“Dr. Perle will set up the devices after a surgeon we partner with implants the device,” said Eric Sandler, Sc.D., of The Hearing Center. “After surgery, we take over the audiological care to make sure that any implantable devices are mapped to make sure the patient is receiving the best possible sound quality.”

Follow-up visits and therapy are required to ensure the cochlear implant is working correctly and the user is acclimating to this new way of processing speech and sound. It is this “full-service” approach to complete hearing healthcare that sets The Hearing Center apart from other audiology practices. By adding these two key services, The Hearing Center now offers all options related to audiology, including hearing aid fittings and verification, tinnitus screening, noise protection, and specialized earplugs for musicians.

“Normally, you would have to refer out, but The Hearing Center allows for patients to have a full-service approach to serving their hearing and audiological needs under one practice,” Perle said. “The amount of valuable skills at The Hearing Center are typically reserved for hospital and university settings. To offer this much in a private practice separates The Hearing Center from any other practice that I know of.”

According to Sandler, a private practice offers a more comfortable and calmer environment for patients, especially for those who require regular visits for auditory issues.

“We hear from patients that they do not want to go to a hospital for regular care,” Sandler said. “There’s too much paperwork and it’s a hassle to park. They like coming to a private office, where they can walk in, have coffee, sit in comfortable chairs, and be seen on time with no emergencies interrupting their valuable time with our doctorate-level professionals.”

Perle earned her Doctor of Audiology degree from Salus University in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. She spent several years at the JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, Edison, N.J., and St. Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick, N.J., before transitioning to private family practice.

She joins Sarah Azer Elias, Au.D., who joined the practice a few months prior, and four other audiology professionals.

“In a family-based practice like The Hearing Center, I have the opportunity to get to know patients,” Perle said. “I’m looking forward to working in a collaborative environment, where I can draw from everyone’s strengths and provide services with other professionals with such a high level of skill and education.”

Perle also identifies candidates for the bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA), which helps deliver sound by sending sounds through the bone behind the ear, bypassing deformities of the ear canal, middle ear, or inner ear which impair hearing.

The use of implantable devices is closely associated with auditory processing, which is how the brain interprets sound and the foundation upon which implantable hearing devices work. Perle’s area of expertise is in auditory processing, particularly in children with learning disabilities. She screens and diagnoses children who are exhibiting issues with auditory processing in order to find ways to help them excel in the classroom.

“Auditory processing has a great impact on a child’s learning,” Perle said. “Typically, the student with auditory processing difficulties has normal hearing sensitivity, but material can seem like it’s going in one ear and out the other, and it clicks the next time it’s presented. Why is there a delay? Why can the child do math really well, but can’t do word problems? It could be because his or her auditory comprehension abilities are impaired.”

“Auditory processing evaluations give us a better understanding of how the brain is handling the input it’s receiving,” Sandler added. “It also helps us recommend and plan any rehabilitation treatment in order to assist those children so they can do better in school.”

Perle will start seeing patients on Tuesday, November 15th in The Hearing Center’s Manalapan office. The Hearing Center also takes appointments at their locations in Highland Park and Clark. For more information, visit www.thcaudiology.com.