HR recently hosted a Knowledge Summit that coincided with the 2013 American Le Mans Series race called “12 Hours of Sebring” in Sebring, Fla. This is an annual endurance car race that comprises the opening round of what might be viewed as the Grand Slam of endurance sports racing. The 3.74-mile Sebring International Racetrack has 17 turns and over 40 LeMans and formula race cars competed.
And it’s loud! If you’re a hearing care professional in charge of testing patients’ hearing, dispensing hearing aids, and advising people about hearing conservation, it is hard to imagine a better—or more needed—place to be than at one of these races. In fact, the title “12 Hours of Sebring,” reminds us of two of the most important risk factors involved in hearing loss: namely, loud noise and the amount of time we’re exposed to it. And there is a captive and fairly receptive audience at these types of events: over 100,000 people attended this year’s 12 Hours of Sebring, with many more watching on TV.
The HR Knowledge Summit, moderated by HR Editor-in-chief Karl Strom, covered a large range of issues, including hearing conservation, tinnitus treatment, counseling, hearing aid fitting tips, practice management and leads generation, and other topics confronting hearing care professionals.
The Roundtable participants featured Siemens Hearing Instruments Vice President of Product Management Thomas Powers, PhD, and five Florida-based audiologists and hearing instrument specialists: Mike Arpasi, BC-HIS, Professional Hearing Aid Centers; Chuck Oliver, BC-HIS, Digital Hearing Aid Outlet Inc; Cecilia Camacho, AuD, Educational Audiologist for Pasco County Schools; Andrea Livingston, AuD, Audiologist for Highlands County Schools; and Roseanne Kiefer, BC-HIS, Lampe & Kiefer Hearing Aid Center.
HR will be featuring shorter clips from this video in the near future, along with additional subject matter and suggested reading for each of the topics covered.