Olivia Piper, AuD, specializes in diagnosing and treating hearing and balance disorders. She provides a full range of audiological services, and has special expertise in working with cochlear implants, small electronic devices that can provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing.
“Audiologists can wear many hats,” Piper says. “Here at Yale, I work in the Hearing and Balance Program to provide comprehensive audiological services to adult patients alongside a stellar team of neurotology physicians and colleagues.” These services include audiograms (hearing tests), hearing aid fittings, balance testing, tinnitus management and counseling, and hearing loss prevention. She supports cochlear implant patients from their initial hearing tests to their implant evaluations, device counseling sessions, activations, and subsequent programming appointments.
“I'm passionate about guiding patients through their personal journeys to rehabilitate their hearing,” Piper says.
Piper was a college undergraduate trying to decide on a career when her advisor recommended she try an audiology class, because he felt it might have the intersection of science and caretaking that she was looking for. “I was somewhat familiar with the subject as my father has Meniere's Disease, which causes fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance issues,” she says. It turned out the be the right choice. “What really solidified my passion for audiology is the opportunity it gives me to know my patients as people; when my patients tell me all the sounds they miss hearing, it truly cuts to the heart of who they are. It's a vulnerable feeling, to say, ‘I used to be able to play music and now I can't.’ You have to build trust with them, and I really enjoy being in that position. It's an honor and a reward.”
In addition to caring for patients, Piper is involved in a research study with Yale colleagues called, "Sound Field Thresholds of Cochlear Implant Recipients: A Comparison of Devices and Varying Noise Stimuli."
