The American Academy of Audiology (AAA) 2022 Convention in St Louis attracted about 2,200 people for four days of excellent learning opportunies, networking, and fun. Academy leaders are urging members to become more involved in this era of rapid change.
Using 2-cc coupler measures, MPO values for different programmed settings were compared for the premier hearing aid products from six major manufacturers. Large differences were observed, and these differences were not directly associated with the product’s OSPL90. In general, at least for the sample audiogram used, it appears that the MPO is limited by the gain setting and the aggressiveness of the wide dynamic range compression (WDRC), often restricting useable headroom.
On July 31st, Michael Valente will retire after 45 years in audiology and 34 years at Washington University. In this article, Douglas Beck conducts an "exit interview" with one of our most distinguished clinician-researchers about his journey in the profession, the Best Practices documents which he spearheaded, OTC devices, and the future of hearing healthcare.
By participating in #KeepMakingWaves, patients and prospects can read stories of success. According to Widex, they can get insight into best practices, things to ask their doctor or clinician, and, overall, how to play a better role in their own hearing health.
Read More
Responding to published concerns by the FCC that captioned telephone services (CTS) are being utilized by people who are not appropriate candidates—leading to potential funding deficits of this critical service—the American Academy of Audiology and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association have jointly developed proposed best practices for determining eligibility for the program.
Read More
In creating and adopting standards of practice for audiology, we provide a shield for ourselves and our patients that will demonstrate the high level of care audiologists are capable of providing, improve confidence in audiology care, deter others from infringing on the audiology scope of practice, and protect each other from legal threats which may arise in the future.
Read More
OTC hearing devices are coming, but how should they function and for whom should they be recommended? Drs Ron Leavitt, Ruth Bentler, and Carol Flexer present six case studies showing that people with true moderate hearing loss may not be well served by what has been characterized as a “consumer-decides” model of care.
Read More
Before jumping to the conclusion that any PSAP and/or future OTC hearing device would be suitable for the many different types of hearing losses, we need to look at their coupler and real-ear performance data. This study by Adam Voss, Kristi Oeding, AU Bankaitis, John Pumford, and Michael Valente suggests current PSAPs are suitable for mild losses only.
Read More
Now that we’ve defined (at minimum) what an OTC hearing device should look like, maybe it’s time to start defining a minimal standard for what a professional hearing aid fitting should look like.
Read More
Valente et al found that 79% of the study participants preferred the programmed fittings using REM versus the first-fit. They conclude that “Using a first-fit alone without reprogramming using REM is fitting hearing aids blindly and not determining whether the patient is being provided appropriate audibility for soft and average speech…The audiologist or hearing aid dispenser can never be certain if he/she is appropriately fitting the patient without using REM.”
Read More
It’s time to clearly distinguish professional service from self-service by showing why licensed hearing care professionals can make a huge difference in hearing aid outcomes. Let’s commit to getting consumers a list of essentials by creating a voluntary standard protocol for every licensed professional who dispenses hearing aids. Let’s spell out what consumers should expect. And then let’s promote the hell out of it.
Read More
The Oticon “marketing intensive” aims to empower independent practitioners to accelerate practice growth with marketing approaches and tools designed to reach the consumers who are vital to their practice’s success.
Read More
Dr Valente is the author and co-author of four books, and is a well-known authority on audiologic testing, hearing aid fitting, research, and single-sided deafness.
Read More
As we look for more efficient and better ways of doing our jobs, I would challenge us to ask ourselves whether we are avoiding a hard road that leads to excellence, and slipping into a pathway that seems efficient but leads to mediocrity.
Read More
The bottom line is that benefit with a hearing instrument can and should be measured, assessed, adjusted, and documented to achieve maximum performance capabilities for all patients.
Read More
Dr Van Vliet discusses how things we may feel to be absolute truths can turn out to be different than what we learned and, just like tying our shoes, we must open our minds to adjusting how we do things for better patient outcomes.
Read More
In the July 2014 Final Word column, Dennis Van Vliet looks at what best practices look like in the “best practices.”
Read MoreThis article provides an organized approach to hearing instrument orientation and adjustment to be used by the practicing hearing care professional.
Read More