Hearing Associates of South Carolina

About Us

Hearing Associates of South Carolina

39-A Varden Drive
Aiken, SC 29803
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Phone: (803) 641-6104
Fax: (803) 641-6234
Email: hearingassoc@bellsouth.net

Sherri Little, Au.D.

Dr. Sherri Little received her Clinical Doctorate of Audiology degree (Au.D.) from the Arizona School of Health Sciences in August of 2002. Dr. Little received her Masters of Arts degree in 1985 from the University of Tennessee and her undergraduate degree from West Virginia University in 1984. She is a South Carolina and Georgia licensed Audiologist. Sherri is also Board Certified by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (CCC-A), and a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology (FAAA).

In addition to working in private practice audiology, Sherri has worked at Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Ft. Gordon, GA; Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington DC; Houston’s Hermann Hospital; St. John’s Mercy Medical Center of St. Louis and the world renowned Shea Clinic in Memphis, TN. During their overseas tours, Sherri worked for the Department of Defense Schools as an Assessor on multidisciplinary special education teams. Those 18 years of experience have given her expertise in the areas of digital hearing aid evaluations and fittings, and all aspects of diagnostic audiology with an emphasis in pediatrics. Dr. Little resides in Aiken, SC with her husband, Dr. Mark Little, a daughter Emily, currently attending Wofferd College, and two sons, Brady and Phillip.

Services

• Hearing instrument evaluation, selection and service with competitive instrument pricing which includes a 30-day trial period
• We offer the latest in digital hearing technology from a wide variety of manufacturers including Widex, Siemens and Phonak
• Full service hearing instrument maintenance and repair on all makes and models
• Earmold impressions for hearing devices, swim plugs, noise protection and musicians’ plugs

Hearing Aid Technology
Digital technology includes a digital computer chip that processes information faster, which produces a cleaner, crisper and more natural sound. The instruments are programmed using a computer and allows the audiologist to manipulate the adjustments to more specific needs of the patient. As a patients hearing loss changes, the instruments can be reprogrammed to fit a greater range of need.
Bluetooth technology allows for hearing aids to communicate with Bluetooth devices, such as cell phones and computers, where the information is transmitted directly through the hearing aid.

Hearing Aid Styles
There are many styles of hearing aids. Each patient’s type and severity of hearing loss, life style determines the hearing aid power requirements and options. Sherri will work hard to choose the aid that best fits your needs.

Receiver-In-The-Ear (RITE)
Fits behind the ear and has a little wire that connects between the device and a small speaker that sits directly in the ear canal and provides an open fit, preventing the “plugged up” feeling.

Behind-The-Ear (BTE)
Fits behind the ear while providing the most circuit options with more power. They are connected with plastic tubing to the custom earmold that is inserted into the ear canal.
 

In-The-Ear (ITE)
Placed into the conca bowl of the ear a custom-made unit is fitted.

In-The-Canal (ITC)
Small enough to fit almost entirely in the ear canal, occupying the lower portion of the ear which requires good dexterity to control the buttons.
 

Completely-In-The-Canal (CIC)
The smallest and most discreet custom-made hearing device. Designed to fit entirely in the ear canal making it virtually invisible and requires a tool to remove the unit from the ear.

Hearing Aid Remotes
Some hearing aids have the option of a remote to control the volume, change hearing aid programs or connect via Bluetooth with compatible devices such as a cell phone. These unit are some separate.

Physical Fit and Comfort
Hearing aids need to be comfortable and fit just right, not too tight and not too loose. Do not wear hearing aids if they are causing discomfort or irritations. Contact your hearing professional regarding your problem as soon as possible in order to make appropriate adjustments to the fit of the hearing aid.

Binaural vs. Monaural
When an audiologist makes a recommendation for hearing aid for each ear(binaural), there are often questions in the patients mind about why they need both. We believe Mother Nature had it right the first time. If a person has two ears with hearing loss, and if both ears can benefit from hearing aids, people generally do much better with two hearing aids in most situations.
One of the main reasons audiologists recommend two hearing aids versus one is because the ability to localize sound improves (knowing where the sound came from), which is only possible with two ears and can be the difference between hearing where a warning sound or siren is coming from. Using both ears together impacts how well you hear in noise. Understanding speech clearly, particularly in challenging and noisy situations is much easier using both ears. Using two hearing aids allows people to speak to you from either side of your head, not just your good side.
People generally cannot hear well using only one ear. If you have a hearing loss in both ears and you only wear a hearing aid in one ear, the unaided ear is likely to lose word recognition ability more quickly than the ear wearing the hearing aid.
 

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