Our Services

We make custom earmolds for a number of reasons.

1. Swim Protectors. These are used to prevent water from entering the ear. Such instances for such use would be when there is a perforation of the eardrum (either naturally acquired or through surgery). Surgically placed ventilation tubes to relieve middle ear fluid build-up is very often cause for swim protectors.

2. Musician Plugs. These plugs are specially made to reduce sound by a given amount of decibels (dB). Typically, the reduction is either 9, 15, or 25 dB. The sound is reduced by a given amount across the auditory spectrum. This means that the quality of the music is not altered by the plug... only that the sound is reduced in amplitude. An ordinary earplug will reduce high notes more effectively than low pitched notes. This will give the listener a very bassy sound, with little of the sharper qualities of the music.

3. Noise Plugs. These are custom plugs which fit the ear and block out as much sound as possible. Uses include construction, noisy concerts, streets and subways, and noisy neighbors.

4. Hearing Aid Molds. Hearing aid molds need to be replaced after a time.

Children can not always be tested by conventional audiometry. In those cases, various behavioral techniques can be used. In general, children can be tested behaviorally using play audiometry, modified pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry, and immittance audiometry. In addition, other techniques can be used such as OAEs and BSERs.

It is quite easy to order your batteries online. Just let us know what type of battery you use and the number of packs you want. Batteries are $4.00 per card and there is a minimum of two cards. You will receive the batteries within a few days by mail.

Here is a listing of battery types typically used in our hearing aids:

#10 Yellow Tab
#13 Orange Tab
#312 Brown Tab
#675 Blue Tab

We also offer a Battery Club program which can save you time and money. With this program, your final price per pack of batteries is $3.33!!

Please call (917)441-6094 for all the details.

These counseling sessions are generally informal. The meeting is concerned with the potential use of hearing aids. Information about various types of instruments are discussed as well as well as the pros and cons for amplification. Very often, the patient may have seen his/her physician first, and would like to know more about the fitting and cost of hearing aids. These sessions very often lay the foundation for the hearing aid fitting process to follow. There is absolutely no obligation of the part of the patient.

Practicing in Manhattan is unique in that we are often visited by travelers from many countries. Very often these individuals are in the United States for short periods of time, or they might have a relative in some distant land who requires hearing improvement. Since time is of the essence in many of these cases, we are geared to provide hearing aid and audiological services as soon as possible.

If you will be coming to the United States and feel that you will need to see us, please e-mail ahead with any information that you might have at your disposal. This includes audiograms, earmolds, or hearing aids which might be in disrepair or in need of programming.

We will also do out best to put you in touch with other audiological professionals in your countries.

We have staff that are fluent in Spanish and Italian

VNG is a state of the art diagnostic evaluation that is invaluable in the assessment of balance disorders. This non evasive procedure is based on the recording of eye movements known as nystagmus. A camera placed inside a pair of goggles that the patient wears records these eye movements during a series of ocular motor and positional tasks.


DIZZINESS

DIZZINESS: A Common Problem

Charles W. Stockwell, Ph.D., ICS Medical

When is dizziness a problem?

If you whirl around and around, youll get dizzy. Thats normal. But if you get dizzy when you are getting up or lying down or sitting in a chair, thats not normal. Thats when dizziness is a problem.

The symptom of dizziness is more common than you might think. It is the second most common health complaint. (The most common is lower back pain.) About 40 percent of adults seek medical help for dizziness at least once in their lives.

Dizziness feels different to different people. Some people feel lightheaded or woozy. Some feel they are spinning, or the world is spinning around them (this type of dizziness is called "vertigo"). Others have no unusual sensation at all, but lose their balance when they stand or try to walk. Sometimes dizziness comes in spells, with little or no dizziness between spells. Sometimes it comes on abruptly and gradually gets better. Sometimes its barely noticeable at first and keeps getting worse. Dizziness can get so bad it makes you feel seasick, with nausea and vomiting.

What causes dizziness?

Dizziness is caused by many different health disorders. It is a common side effect of medications. It is caused by toxic chemicals and fumes and by injuries to the head or neck. Sometimes the problem is in the ear. Everyone knows that the ears sense sound, but not everyone knows that ears also sense head movements and that ear disorders can make you dizzy. Dizziness-causing ear disorders include fluid imbalances, infections, and degenerative diseases. The most common of these has a long namebenign paroxysmal positional vertigo. It occurs when tiny crystals get lodged in the wrong part of the inner ear and it can cause severe dizziness, especially when you lie down in bed.

Sometimes dizziness comes from problems within the brain. Brain disorders include tumors, migraine, multiple sclerosis, and various kinds of infections and degenerative diseases. Dizziness can be caused by partial or total blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the brain. It can also be caused by general health problems, such as thyroid deficiency, vitamin deficiency, diabetes, anemia, and immune system diseases.

Some of these disorders are serious and some are not so serious. Fortunately serious disorders are rare and not-so-serious disorders are common. Strange as it may seem, severe dizziness doesnt necessarily indicate a serious disorder. Some serious disorders cause mild dizziness and some not-so-serious disorders cause severe dizziness.

You should see your doctor about your dizziness, even if it seems to be getting better. Your doctor can often find out whats wrong even if youre not actually dizzy at the time of your visit. If your dizziness is truly alarming, you may choose to go to the emergency room.

What happens when I see my doctor?

Your doctor will ask lots of questions. What does your dizziness feel like? When did it start? How bad does it get? Is it constant or does it come in attacks? What seems to bring it on? What makes it better? What makes it worse? What other symptoms go along with it?

If you are seeing a doctor for the first time, you will also be asked about other current or past health problems, about health problems in your immediate family, and about your lifestyle.

Some doctors prefer to ask these questions face-to-face. Others prefer to have you fill out a questionnaire in the waiting room and then go over the answers with you. You should be aware that certain information is helpful and other information is not. Your doctor knows which information is helpful, so its best to let him (or her) ask the questions.

You will be examined. Your height, weight, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure will be checked. The doctor will listen to your heart and lungs and examine various parts of your bodyeyes, ears, nose, mouth, throat, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, lymph nodes, joints, bones, muscles, skin, nerves, and mental status.

What happens next?

If your doctor finds a not-so-serious cause for your dizziness or at least finds no evidence of a serious disorder, he (or she) will explain the test results, what they mean and tell you what can be done about your problem. Thats usually what happens. Your doctor will begin treatment (if any is available) and send you home with instructions to return for a follow-up visit and to call if your dizziness comes back or gets worse.

If your doctor needs more information in order to make a diagnosis, he (or she) may draw some blood and send it to the laboratory for analysis and may schedule other tests and instruct you to return for a follow-up visit after test results come back.

If your doctor finds evidence of a serious disorder, he (or she) may send you to a specialistto an internist if its a general medical disorder, to a cardiologist if its a heart or circulation disorder, to a neurologist if its a brain disorder, to an otolaryngologist if its an ear disorder. The specialist will ask more questions, perform a more extensive physical examination, and may send you for more tests.

If your doctor finds evidence of a serious disorder that requires prompt attention, he (or she) may admit you to the hospital.

What can my doctor do about my dizziness?

Some disorders that cause dizziness dont require any treatment. They go away by themselves. Sad to say, some disorders wont go away by thems

A complete audiological examination (CAE) is the basic hearing examination. It consists of pure tone testing by air- and bone conduction, speech audiometry (speech reception and speech discrimination) and immittance audiometry (tympanometry and acoustic reflex testing). This type of examination is the starting point for many other procedures and the first step in the fitting of hearing aids.

Assistive listening devices are used to maximize hearing using instruments which may or may not be used in conjunction with a hearing aid. These instruments fall into several categories:

1. Telephone Amplifiers.
2. Infrared Listening Systems for Television and Theater.
3. FM Listening Systems for lectures, conversation in noisy places, or at business meetings.
4. Devices to Warn of Fire.
5. Signalling Devices Such as Doorbells and Telephone Ringers.
6. Terminals to Communicate over Telephones.

Dr. Servedio offers complete hearing aid consultation and fitting services. When a hearing aid is required, we provide the necessary audiological tests, the fitting of the instrument(s), and follow up. We believe that family support is an important aspect of successful adjustment to a hearing aid. For this reason, we encourange family involvement in the fitting process.

We offer a full array of the most contemporary digital and conventional instruments.

Please call us with any question concerning the fitting process, warranties and loss policies, the initial trial period (45 days), or any other question that you might be of concern to you.