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Final Word | September 2022 Hearing Review Veteran hearing industry editor writes last words before retirement By Dennis Van Vliet Soon after leaving The Hearing Journal, I came to an agreement with Karl Strom to continue writing in my own style for The Hearing Review. Karl has given me the freedom to share my views and is a helpful, collaborative editor. At some point in the early 1990s, I received a call from Robert Sweetow asking if I had any interest in taking over the writing of a column that he had been authoring for the trade journal Hearing Instruments. He told me it was enjoyable and didn’t require a lot of work, but also didn’t produce anything in the way of income. He viewed it as a way to fill a need to discuss professional topics in a public manner. For perspective, recall that we did not have much Internet communication available to the public at that time, and very few of us even had fax machines in our offices. Hearing Instruments was a respected trade journal, edited by Marjorie Skafte. I was a storyteller, but not much of a writer, and Marj appreciated my style of “setting the stage” around hearing assessment and hearing aid fitting anecdotes, followed by lessons I may have learned in managing these situations. I appreciated her approach and editorial guidance. After a few years and Marjorie Skafte’s retirement, ownership of Hearing Instruments Magazine and editing styles changed to the extent that I decided to accept an invitation from David Kirkwood and Gus Mueller to start a similar column for The Hearing Journal. David suggested the title “The Final Word,” and the column was placed on the final page of each issue. I was given broad leeway to write about whatever I thought would be interesting for readers of The Hearing Journal. David’s edits were few and thoughtful and added clarity to what I was trying to say. At one point, David asked me if my stories were based on real interactions, or if they were they fabricated to make a point. I replied that in our business there are so many true stories that there is no need to invent something. I emphasized, for the most part, “…you can’t make this stuff up!” When David retired in 2010, a new Hearing Journal editor with a different style left me feeling that, following edits, the column often did not represent what I was trying to say. Soon after leaving The Hearing Journal, I came to an agreement with Karl Strom to continue writing in my own style for The Hearing Review. Karl has given me the freedom to share my views and is a helpful, collaborative editor. There have been fewer pages available to publish opinion pieces like “The Final Word” in the past few years, and the emergence of social media options has largely made the monthly column as a responsive communication method, obsolete. As a result, I think that it is time to close out “The Final Word” as a part of my scope of practice. As I write this FINAL “Final Word” I am easing into retirement along with my wife, Alison Grimes, who has fully retired from UCLA. We both plan to continue with licensure and professional commitments and add a limited home-based practice to care for those who need hearing care services but cannot leave their homes easily. For the readers who have approached me over the years expressing their thanks for writing “The Final Word,” I extend my thanks in greater measure back to you for being a good audience. Citation for this article: Van Vliet D. The final...final word. Hearing Review. 2022;29(9):35.

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Tag: Robert Sweetow

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