Sound Start PDX

Sound Start PDX soundSTART is a non-profit center for deaf/hard of hearing children and young adults

In 2025 (and continuing into 2026), we welcomed 2 audiology externs to the soundSTART team. These students are in their ...
01/20/2026

In 2025 (and continuing into 2026), we welcomed 2 audiology externs to the soundSTART team. These students are in their final year of training before graduating with their Doctorate of Audiology (AuD). ๐ŸŽ“

We enjoy mentoring them and watching them grow their clinical skills. We look forward to seeing them enter the profession this coming spring and summer! They both have been big helpers in our clinic and early childhood program. ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ

Thanks to Pacific University and University of Cincinnati for trusting us with this crucial piece of their education! ๐Ÿง  We also added a full time staff member to support our clinic operations and assist with care coordination. Make sure to say hello to Zoe when you see her in the office during your visit!

We work closely with the Oregon Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) program to ensure all babies born in Orego...
01/19/2026

We work closely with the Oregon Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) program to ensure all babies born in Oregon can access hearing screening. Newborn hearing screening should be done at birth or within the first month of a childโ€™s life, but itโ€™s never too late to check a childโ€™s hearing. We perform these screenings in our office on any day of the week. They are typically a short, simple visit with a member of our audiology team. We make it as comfortable and as fun as we can. We accept what we bill to insurance as payment in full - parents never get a bill. No cost, no pain, a few minutes and you learn how your baby hears.

Our clinic and team love reading and giving books with children who come to see us in both offices. ๐Ÿ“– We support the gen...
01/16/2026

Our clinic and team love reading and giving books with children who come to see us in both offices. ๐Ÿ“– We support the generosity of Dolly Partonโ€™s Imagination Library and follow her lead in our own little way. Every child under age 5 is eligible to receive a free book each month for free. ๐ŸŽ‰

We help families get signed up when they come in to see one of our clinicians. We help spread the word, prepare the registration form and get the child enrolled online. ๐Ÿ“‘ Then they start receiving a book each month until age 5!

Families are delighted to learn about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and grateful we take the time to get them enrolled. We are so grateful this amazing program exists! We wish more millionaires and billionaires lived like Dolly Parton! ๐Ÿฅฐ

From the start, we strived to create a clinical setting that is welcoming and unique. We do that in a lot of tiny and bi...
01/15/2026

From the start, we strived to create a clinical setting that is welcoming and unique. We do that in a lot of tiny and big ways. โœจ

Everyone who has worked at soundSTART has shared a lot in common, but in particular, we are all huge readers! ๐Ÿ“š We all know the benefits of reading for children and adults, so we committed to giving a new book to every child at every appointment! We love helping build every childโ€™s personal libraries. By making reading at home easier, we are promoting lifelong learning, personal achievement, and boosting cognitive and social/emotional skills. ๐Ÿ†

One of our BIGGEST highlights of the year was finally getting our school officially licensed and opened. Our teachers do...
01/15/2026

One of our BIGGEST highlights of the year was finally getting our school officially licensed and opened. Our teachers do a tremendous job every day encouraging wear time, expanding on their speech and language goals and making beautiful memories! ๐Ÿฅฐ

Our program is growing and we love offering a learning environment focused on language and communication with caring adults. Big shout out for Sarah for keeping this dream alive and making it happen in 2025! Getting a school licensed is a LOT of work! ๐Ÿ“‹

We love finally having all of our services available for our children and families. Spread the word! ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ We welcome tours and drop-ins for any interested families with a DHH child under 5.

One of our favorite things about being a pediatric focused clinic is sharing in the joy and wonder of a child's reality ...
01/13/2026

One of our favorite things about being a pediatric focused clinic is sharing in the joy and wonder of a child's reality and their curious imaginations. We see this everyday when working with children to pick their earmolds! Often our patients need custom earmolds to maximize the benefit and function of their hearing aids.

We love partnering with another woman-owned business to make our patient's visions for their earmolds become a reality! We get our batches of earmolds on Wednesdays and it has become a highlight each week to see how they all turned out! If you peek in our past photos, you will see a lot of fun earmolds! We will be sure to share more in 2026!

What color earmolds would you pick if you could choose? ๐Ÿ”ด๐ŸŸ ๐ŸŸก๐ŸŸข๐Ÿ”ต๐ŸŸฃ

This year we continued our work as contracted educational audiologists for school districts. Dr. Shelby continues to wor...
01/12/2026

This year we continued our work as contracted educational audiologists for school districts. Dr. Shelby continues to work on teams in districts throughout Oregon to monitor childrenโ€™s listening, learning and communication access. We also have expanded our role to offer hearing re-screening for children K-12 in the school districts we serve. ๐ŸŽง๐Ÿ™‹
Educational audiology gives us a unique opportunity to help ensure children with hearing loss are getting the maximum specialized support to do their best in school. We love being a part of the multidisciplinary teams! We are lucky to have such close contact with the incredible individuals who also support children in schools - teachers, teachers of the Deaf, SLPs, district staff and so many more. ๐Ÿš™๐Ÿš—๐Ÿšฆ๐Ÿซ

Our clinic is committed to providing the best access to sound through hearing aids! We fit 112 new hearing aids this yea...
01/09/2026

Our clinic is committed to providing the best access to sound through hearing aids! We fit 112 new hearing aids this year.

The essential steps for a pediatric hearing aid fitting:
๐Ÿ‘‚ A high-quality earmold impression, with all of the anatomy captured
๐Ÿ‘ An earmold that suits the child's preferences that they are proud to wear
๐Ÿ“‰ Real-ear-to-coupler (RECD) or real-ear measurement to get the programming perfect for the child's unique ears
๐Ÿฆป Helping parents and children achieve full-time use through behavior supports and extra tools

Among the 210 cochlear implants programmed, we saw our youngest new recipient (9 months) and our oldest new recipient (1...
01/08/2026

Among the 210 cochlear implants programmed, we saw our youngest new recipient (9 months) and our oldest new recipient (18 years)! ๐Ÿ‘ถ๐Ÿผ๐Ÿ‘ง๐Ÿพ

Getting a cochlear implant is a big decision. When hearing aids arenโ€™t enough, a cochlear implant can provide access to sound and spoken language. The technology is amazing, but finding an audiologist who can optimize the programming for each child is crucial! We are so lucky to have a pediatric audiologist who also specializes in cochlear implants and child development. Dr. Shelby collaborates with families to integrate cochlear implants into their everyday lives.

Special CI Milestones:
โœ… Initial activation day
โœ… Full-time use achieved (at least 80% of waking hours)
โœ… Child lets you know when it falls off or isnโ€™t working
โœ… Child asks for the CIs in the morning
โœ… Child can put the CIs on themselves
โœ… Child calls them โ€œcochlear implantsโ€ instead of โ€œearsโ€

๐Ÿ’ฌ Please share the exciting milestones you have seen for your child with a CI!

In 2025, we were lucky to add Eryn McHan to our team and start offering speech therapy services again! Eryn has over a d...
01/07/2026

In 2025, we were lucky to add Eryn McHan to our team and start offering speech therapy services again! Eryn has over a decade of experience supporting Deaf/Hard of Hearing children in a variety of settings. She is overflowing with fabulous ideas and contagious energy. All day long, Eryn supports kids using and trusting their hearing, enhances speech clarity, boosts social and emotional skills, and (most importantly) empowers their parents. In just 4 months, we have seen the tremendous impact she has had on the kids and families in her care.

We love offering a collaborative approach to supporting D/HH children under one roof. Children who see Eryn also work with Dr. Shelby to know their hearing devices are programmed properly and Dr. Kim if they also use sign language to communicate. All three experts are infused into our amazing childcare/preschool program, offering ideas for the classroom and getting great insights from the childโ€™s teachers in return. ๐Ÿ”„

Have you met Eryn yet? ๐Ÿ‘‹๐Ÿผ We recommend all of our Deaf/Hard of Hearing children have an annual evaluation of their listening and communication skills. Call, email, or comment to learn more about getting started with Eryn. You could not ask for a better person to be on your childโ€™s team!

What a year! We set a record for appointments in our Beaverton and Roseburg clinics. We are lucky to have new patient re...
01/06/2026

What a year! We set a record for appointments in our Beaverton and Roseburg clinics. We are lucky to have new patient referrals every day from all across Oregon. Both clinics continue to be very busy and full of joy and giggles. Massive gratitude to our entire team for all the work that goes into keeping our clinic operating smoothly. Big thanks to the families who trust us with their care, and make our work so rewarding!

2025 โ€“ such a huge year! We finished our sixth year and it was one of our best years yet! We are taking time to reflect ...
01/05/2026

2025 โ€“ such a huge year! We finished our sixth year and it was one of our best years yet! We are taking time to reflect and feature some of our accomplishments from this last year.

In 2025, we focused on exceeding expectations for patient care, building alignment with our community and delivering on our mission. We are still a mostly family-operated, small team of 11 and we are proud to support our communities in both soundSTART offices. We are so grateful to be doing what we love and serving families and children throughout Oregon.

Over the next two weeks, we will be highlighting a different accomplishment to celebrate another incredible year. All art is created by our in house graphic designer and this year he incorporated art done by children at soundSTART. As always, thank you for your ongoing support! We look forward to doing so much more in 2026.

Address

9955 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Highway #115
Beaverton, OR
97005

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+15035672231

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