Dr. Ullauri’s pediatric experience: Dr. Ullauri has extensive experience working in the diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss in the pediatric population. She has worked with children with hearing loss for 15 years. She started her pediatric focus at Guys’ and St. Thomas’ Hospital in London-UK, where she worked as a senior audiological scientist in the pediatric cochlear implant program. Following that placement, she started a cochlear implant program in Ecuador. In 2012, she joined University of Illinois at Chicago as a visiting instructor and worked with bilingual children going through the process of diagnosis of a hearing loss to preparation for cochlear implantation.
Dr. Ullauri then joined University of Chicago Medicine as manager of the audiology department. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Illinois Hands and Voices, a parent-driven organization for children with hearing loss. She also recently traveled to Ecuador to participate with the Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss on a mission to train professionals in Audiology working with children with hearing loss.
Chicago Hearing Care Pediatric Practice: At Chicago Hearing Care, we understand how important it is for parents to find out about their child’s hearing as soon as possible. We understand the doubts and worries a family experiences when their child’s hearing is a concern. Because we appreciate your concerns, we offer appointments within 48 hours for children 6 months and older. Our testing is thorough. We perform: Middle Ear Testing to confirm or rule out middle ear fluid and/or infections, Audiometric Testing to establish a child’s hearing thresholds using different techniques depending on the child’s age, and Otoacoustic Emissions Tests to determine inner ear hair cell function. We work closely with pediatricians and pediatric ear nose and throat specialists on these matters.
Many pediatric hearing losses are related to middle ear problems, and can be addressed by medical treatment. Statistics estimate that 5 out of 6 children will have otitis media (ear infection) by age 3. Your pediatrician and ENT will guide you through the medical treatment options based on your child’s clinical history. Dr. Ullauri will monitor the child’s hearing to ensure the treatment works and your child’s hearing recovers to normal levels.
In some cases, permanent hearing loss is present. Statistics show that:
- 2 to 3 children are born with some degree of hearing loss every 1000 births.
- Over 90% of children with hearing loss are born to hearing parents.
- 1 in 8 children ages 6-19 have noise-induced hearing loss.
When we diagnose permanent hearing loss in a child, we discuss the next steps to address the child’s hearing needs with the family and their care team. Dr. Ullauri guides them through the selection process of hearing devices, depending on the degree and type of hearing loss the child has.
Testing your child’s hearing is crucial to ensure his/her hearing will allow for oral language development and learning. Even a mild hearing loss negatively impacts education. Put your mind at rest. Find out about your child’s hearing today.
Resources for Children with Hearing Loss and their Families:
Webinars for parents: Make informed decisions. Learn about hearing loss and the solutions available today. Webinars are in English and Spanish.
Illinois Sound Beginnings: In Illinois, all newborns receive a hearing screening in the hospital before leaving. The screening should occur no later 1 month of age. If a baby does not pass a hearing screening, follow-up testing should be completed no later than 3 months of age. If a child does have a hearing loss, intervention should start no later than 6 months of age.
Illinois Hands and Voices: IL H&V is a parent-driven, non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families that have children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing without a bias toward communication modes or methodologies.
Guide By Your Side: Provides unbiased emotional support and resources by trained Parent Guides to families with children who have a hearing loss.
The Listening Room: Here you will find a host of free, fun activities and resources to support the development of speech, language, and listening skills in people of all ages with a hearing loss.
MEDEL support for parents: This site is for people considering a cochlear implant, or those who already have one. It offers a range of rehabilitation materials. MEDEL provides teachers, speech therapists, rehabilitation professionals and parents with materials written by specialists to help your child make the most out of his or her hearing implant.
The Communication Corner: Resources to improve listening, encourage conversations, and instill confidence so that you can achieve your best.
Phonak Pediatric Hearing Solutions: This site discusses hearing aids and accessories available from Phonak for children with hearing loss.
Child’s Voice: Child's Voice is a listening and spoken language program for children with hearing loss. Child's Voice provides children with hearing loss the opportunity to learn to listen and talk.