The Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) is re-energizing their annual convention this year with a new name, "AuDacity," and a program of new events that address the biggest challenges in the hearing health profession today: education, service, and technology.
Rita Chaiken, AuD, president of ADA, said the organization's goal for AuDacity 2016 is to provide practical training and equip participants with skills and knowledge they could use immediately when they return to work the following Monday.
"It's really a challenge to our members and guests who will be there to learn alternative skill sets to how they've been practicing to be successful in this era of so many disruptions," Dr. Chaiken said.
This determination to succeed was the academy's guiding principle in designing this year's event. Stephanie Czuhajewski, CAE, executive director of the academy, said the theme, "Dare to Succeed," represents the fact that audiologists can choose their own destiny as private practice owners or clinicians, and audiology as a profession.
"'Dare' reflects the audacious nature of ADA members and the fact that those who are most successful in the future may be the audiologists who embrace new ideas, new technologies, and new models of care to best serve patients," Czuhajewski said.
Besides continuously enriching their own expertise in the area, audiologists face the challenge of educating patients, especially older adults, and other medical professionals about the impact of hearing loss and the importance of good hearing health care.
A CDC National Center for Health Statistics brief published in 2014 indicated that 19 percent of adults aged 40 to 69 had self-reported trouble hearing without a hearing aid, and the rate was significantly higher for adults aged 70 and older (43.2%). Among people who are 70 or older with trouble hearing, 56.8 percent had seen a doctor or other health care professionals about their problem in the past five years, but only 42 percent had ever used a hearing aid.
The low number of older patients opting to use hearing aids could be attributed to lack of follow-up from their care providers. In a study conducted by Thodi and colleagues, 18 percent of the 3,025 adult participants referred for audiologic/hearing aid evaluation tried a hearing aid, but only 11 percent of those who were fitted with a device was still using them two years later (Am J Audiol 2013;22[1]:183). Participants reported that screening was helpful, but the study found that follow-up with hearing aid treatment among participants was low.
One of Dr. Chaiken's objectives for AuDacity 2016 is to direct audiologists back to the basic — service, which she believes is the cornerstone of audiology and how the profession began.
"We have to differentiate ourselves and differentiate audiology from other areas," Dr. Chaiken said. "There are many opportunities in the audiology profession and where we need to focus is patient care and patient service. We have to define ourselves beyond the hardware and really work to be recognized by patients and the medical community for the valuable services we provide."
Research has shown that other medical practitioners' attitude towards hearing rehabilitation deters patients with hearing loss from seeking screening and treatment. A literature review reveals that one of the barriers to help-seeking for hearing impairment and hearing aid adoption appears to be general practitioners' management of age-related impairment (Int J Audiol 2012;51[2]:66). Although medical practitioners acknowledged the theoretical benefits of hearing rehabilitation, they appear less certain about the potential for actual benefit for their older adult patients (Int J Audiol 2011;50[12]:850).
Education at the physician level is key to increasing referrals from doctors in other fields to audiologists for specialized hearing care. Angela Morris, AuD, ADA's president elect, went further to say audiologists should also educate other non-physician providers such as dentist, pharmacists, and optometrists about audiology to broaden the scope of their services.
"We are missing a tremendous opportunity where we can work with these other professionals to help us in our endeavors to educate our patients about the importance of hearing, balance disorders, and their effects," Dr. Morris said.
Another opportunity for audiologists to educate specialists in other areas and collaborate is technology. Firmly believing in the increasing importance of new technology in the practice of audiology, AuDacity will feature a keynote address on disruptive innovations and sessions on how audiologists could adopt new technologies in diagnostics and treatment.
"Audiologists certainly have to incorporate or be aware of what's available to them, how they could use new technologies in their practices, and how they can teach their patients and other professionals they work with about them," Dr. Chaiken said.
ADA emphasizes the importance of cultivating partnerships not only between audiologists and other medical professionals but also among audiologists. The academy sent out a survey to gauge the areas that are most important to their members and will be discussing the survey results during a members-only strategic planning session on Saturday, Nov. 12.
"Members will have the opportunity to weigh in during this type of forum for the first time in many years," Dr. Chaiken said. "They can express their feelings about the organization and the profession. We are definitely listening!"
With a renewed focus on collaboration through education, service delivery, and learning new technology, audiologists will be better positioned to differentiate themselves and make their crucial role in providing care known, which Dr. Chaiken thinks is essential to the success of the profession.
"We are trained and licensed to provide services that we have to offer to people and let communities of patients and medical professionals know," Dr. Chaiken said. "It's an exciting challenge — one that we just have to define ourselves to others, so we can better treat the patients who come to see us."
