Department of Audiology

Department of Audiology

The Department of Audiology was established within the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation sciences (USWR) in 2009. Our department currently offers the master and Ph.D. Degrees in Audiology and provides a dynamic and friendly environment for students and staffs with many opportunities for education, discussion and training that integrate foundational knowledge, research, and evidence-based practical skills on the balance and hearing sciences.

Generally our coursework includes classes such as:

· Anatomy, physiology and neuroscience of hearing and balance systems

· Psycho-acoustics

· Signals, systems and electrophysiology

· Speech, language and cognition, communication sciences

· Amplification, hearing aid and cochlear implant

· Special populations in audiology

· Clinical practice and practicum

What is Audiology?

Audiology is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists are healthcare professionals who provide patient-centered care in the prevention, identification, diagnosis, and evidence-based treatment of hearing, balance, and other auditory disorders for people of all ages. An audiologist carries out a range of tests on adults and children to determine the presence, nature and extent of hearing loss and balance disorders, enabling accurate clinical diagnosis in a range of hearing related conditions. A further role is the long-term management and rehabilitation of the hearing impaired and those with tinnitus. Audiologists can also specialize in diagnosis and rehabilitation of central auditory processing disorder, hyperacusis, and fitting of cochlear implant, hearing aid and assistive listening devices.

Aims

Educational aims

· Dissemination of knowledge, education, supervision, administration and training of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate audiology students, aimed at the production of the expert audiologists needed for the progress of the nation and society's healthcare

· Monitoring of functional outcomes, client satisfaction, effectiveness, and competence of practices and methods to preserve and enhance the quality of audiological services

· Promoting an educational environment that values contributions from all students and staffs

Research aim

· Training of researchers needed for the preservation and expansion of audiological knowledge

· Designing of basic and applied audiological research to enhance the knowledge base, designing new techniques and programs, and determining the effectiveness of evaluation and treatment methods

· Developing of professional, technical and educational criteria and standards

Teaching

The Department of Audiology trains postgraduate students focusing on neuroscience of hearing, language and balance.

The students of our department have access to the comprehensive advanced study and clinical training, library and recreation facilities of the only rehabilitation university in Iran and in the region.

Services We Offer

We provide adult and pediatric comprehensive diagnostic testing and rehabilitation services for hearing and balance disorders, including:

• Audiology Services

• Complete Adult and Pediatric Audiological Evaluation

• Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Follow-up

• School Screening Follow-up

• Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE)

• Auditory Brainstem Response Testing (ABR)

• Vestibular (Balance) Services

• Elecronystagmography (ENG)

• Dizziness and balance assessment

• Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMP)