Powers Health audiology team is here to help
By the year 2050, an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide will have some degree of hearing loss, according to the American Academy of Audiology.
May is designated as Better Hearing Month, an opportunity to draw special attention to hearing-related causes and the healthcare workers dedicated to caring for your hearing. At Powers Health, our licensed audiologists diagnose and treat hearing loss and other audiology disorders for adult and pediatric patients.
Our team includes audiologist Natalie Cowan, who is based out of Powers Health Rehabilitation Center in Crown Point. She treats patients of all ages, but her clinical specialty is pediatrics. For Natalie, working for Powers Health is a full-circle path.
Born at 33 weeks gestation, Natalie spent about the first month of her life in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Community Hospital. Now a doctor of audiology, she serves as the hospital’s coordinator for the Newborn Screening Program in the nursery and is a clinical specialist on the NICU Hearing Screening team.
“This is my dream job,” she said.
In her role as newborn hearing screen coordinator, she trains new nurses in the nursery on the importance of and how to perform hearing screenings.
“In the NICU, the audiologists complete a different type of newborn hearing screening, as these babies are at higher risk for hearing loss,” Natalie explained.
Powers Health has a history of being at the forefront of innovation.
“Hearing screenings for high-risk newborns started well before state law took effect July 1, 2000, requiring babies to undergo hearing screenings before being discharged,” said Powers Health Audiology Services Director Tricia O’Halloran.
She was hired in 1996 to develop and implement the Audiology Department at Community Hospital.
“We provide full diagnostic hearing and balance evaluations, including hearing aid services,” she said. “From the beginning, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the amazing Therapy Services team.”
Under her leadership, Community Hospital was the first hospital in Northwest Indiana to provide Videonystagmography (VNG) testing, which relates to the inner ear balance system. She and her team brought cochlear implant and osseointegrated bone conduction devices to aid audiology patients at Powers Health.
“Natalie and I are surrounded by a great team of professional and support staff,” she said. “We have been fortunate to have wonderful support from administration that has invested in our department and understands the importance of excellent hearing and balance healthcare.”