The Official Publication of The Academy of Dispensing Audiologists®

Transcription

feedback
Au.D.s Manufacturing the
of
Future
Audiology
16
18
24
Our own Craig
Johnson, Au.D.,
appears in interview
on MSNBC.
Use different competitive strategies to
create value in your
own practice!
Au.D.s are
manufacturing
the future of
Audiology.
Au.D.
9
What’s In A
NAME?
Could the ADA be
the Academy of Doctors
of Audiology?
President’s Message: 30th Anniversary, Into the Future and the ADA Transforms
Professional Update: AFA Update,AAC Update
Industry Insider: Consolidation Puts GN ReSound in the News
VOLUME 17, NUMBER 3 ■ FALL 2006
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feedback
C
O
5
N
T
President’s Message
E
21
Editor’s Note
Kevin Ruggle, Au.D.
9
What’s In a Name? Could the
ADA Be the Academy of
Doctors of Audiology?
Kevin Ruggle, Au.D.
16
Can’t You Hear What They Hear?
ADA President Craig Johnson,
Au.D. on MSNBC!
Theresa Rubinas
18
T
S
Industry Insider
Kevin Ruggle, Au.D.
Craig W. Johnson, Au.D.
8
N
22
24
Professional Update
Future of Audiology
Theresa Rubinas
29
ADA News
The Passing of Randy Morgan
30
Convention Preview
Q & A with the Unstoppable
Cynthia Kersey followed by the
Convention Agenda
Value Creation for Audiologists:
Lessons From Corporate America
Steve W. Henson, Ph.D.
and Susan J. Williamson, Au.D.
Advertisers Index
Oticon...........................................Inside Front Cover
Phonak Hearing Systems........................................4
Hansaton Akustik GmbH .........................................6
Siemens......................................................................7
ESCO Ear Service Corporation ............................27
Discovery Hearing Aid Warranties......................29
Sensimetrics ...........................................................37
Widex ............................................Inside Back Cover
Maico Diagnostics ..................................Back Cover
All advertisements sent to Feedback and the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists for publication must comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
The appearance of advertisements in Feedback magazine is not an endorsement of the advertiser or its products or services. Neither Feedback nor the
ADA board investigates the claims made by advertisers and is not responsible for their claims.
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President’s Message ADA
Craig W. Johnson, Au.D.
President’s Message
“Seize The Opportunity”
Craig Johnson, Au.D.
ADA President
elcome back to your professional home.This is the last time that I
will address you as President of the Academy. It’s been an honor to
serve you and it’s been a rewarding experience to give back to the
profession that has provided us all with a wonderful career. Those that follow will
enjoy the same personal rewards. I look forward to greeting each and every one
of you during the 2006 ADA Conference in Scottsdale,Arizona.
W
30th Anniversary Year:
This convention starts our
yearlong celebration of the
30th anniversary of the
Academy of Dispensing
Audiologists.As you are aware,
ADA,founded in 1977,was the
first audiology-based organization formed for the sole purpose of supporting independent audiology practices.
Into the Future
So, after 30 years, what is the
future direction of ADA? Is our
purpose the same as it has been
in the past?
As you know, ADA was
founded to support dispensing
audiologists. Audiologists
learned basic skills at that time,
such as business management,
hearing aid acoustics and casting earmolds. Dispensing by an
audiologist is now as routine as
owning a pair of earphones. In
the state of Maryland, I was the
first audiologist to dispense
hearing aids in 1977. I don’t
know of any clinical audiologist
in the state that does not currently dispense.
So, what is ADA’s mission in
this changed environment?
ADA’s mission has been to support the practitioner.Expanding
knowledge has led inevitably to
increased responsibilities to our
patients. ADA pioneered the
education of audiologists to
include cerumen management,
vestibular rehabilitation and, of
course,the transformation of the
profession to doctoring care.
With a changing emphasis
placed on supporting the practitioner vs. the dispenser of
devices, the role of ADA has
evolved during the last 30 years
to support doctoring care.
ADA has advanced the profession with a new focus: supporting the Doctor of
Audiology as the manager of
hearing and balance care.
What are Doctors of
Audiology? They are practitioners who provide the highest level of patient care in terms of the
diagnosis, treatment and management of hearing and balance
issues. So, now that Doctors of
Audiology have come into
existence and dominate the
marketplace in some areas,how
does the profession articulate its
doctoring care message to consumers? We need an organiza-
tion that is solely dedicated to
the Au.D. to support this doctoring care profession.
The Academy of
Dispensing Audiologists
Transforms to
Become the Academy of
Doctors of Audiology
Our path is clear and unmistakable. The path has been
marked by generations of leaders who established a clinical
profession based on fundamental research.This foundation led
to the practice of audiology that
we know today.We have prospered by reaching skyward
while standing on the shoulders of our mentors.This is our
moment to complete the circle
by establishing a professional
home for the Doctor of
Audiology.As the profession has
evolved so should ADA evolve
to become The Academy of
Doctors of Audiology. I put forth
a proposal and rationale during
our February board meeting to
consider changing our name to
be consistent with the present
realities and vision for our association. This proposal was
accepted unanimously by your
Board of Directors.The rationale for this change, as well as
other updates to our bylaws,
is included in this issue of
Feedback.
This is an exciting and historic opportunity for ADA and
the profession overall. At the
convention membership meeting, the membership will be
asked to vote on the Board’s
recommended bylaw changes.
Key Objective for the
Profession: Consumer
Access to Services
The overriding key objective
in all of our legislative and governmental affairs activities is to
ensure patient access to services. Patients need to have access
to audiology services so that
they can be decision makers in
their hearing health care needs.
It is inappropriate to restrict
patient access. Choice has
always been part of our
American heritage.
Likewise, all qualified providers should have access to the
provision of consumer services.
In this way, consumers can
determine the best professional
Continued On Page 38
FEEDBACK • VOLUME 17, NUMBER 3 • FALL 2006
5
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listening experience possible. That’s why Siemens developed CENTRA™, the world’s
most wearer-focused hearing system. CENTRA features breakthrough technologies like
SoundSmoothing™, which suppresses impulsive noise such as the rustling of paper —
while leaving speech signals intact. DataLearning™, which learns the wearer’s loudness
preferences and adjusts automatically. And e2e wireless™, for natural and precise
localization. For more information on this bold approach to better hearing, contact
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FILE NAME: 08164•ADA Grandmapg9-06.qxd
wm
ADA Editor’s Note
Editor’s Note
President
Craig Johnson, Au.D.
cjohnson@audiologist.org
Kevin Ruggle, Au.D.
President Elect
Larry Engelmann, Au.D.
lengelmann@audiologist.org
Information Overload
Brace yourselves for an exciting fall, and I am not talking about football!
Past President
Cynthia Ellison, Au.D.
cellison@audiologist.org
Here are a few items we are following on your behalf at Feedback magazine.
ADA Elections:The ADA Board of Director elections are in progress and the
Treasurer
David Berkey, Au.D.
dberkey@audiologist.org
Secretary
Lee Micken, Au.D.
lmicken@audiologist.org
results will be tabulated soon. New board members will be arriving to the board
Kevin Ruggle, Au.D.
this fall.These directors will find that they will hit the ground running, as they
tackle many topics that are vital to all audiologists.
Members At Large
The ADA convention will take center stage October 11-14, 2006, in Scottsdale, Arizona. I know
Linda Burba, Au.D.
lburba@audiologist.org
the convention committee is finalizing the details, so your convention will be educational, relaxing
Lawrence Eng, Au.D.
leng@audiologist.org
and fun all in one.If you have not registered,please do so through the ADA Web site at http://www.
C. Joseph Hibbert, Au.D.
jhibbert@audiologist.org
Feedback Editor
Kevin Ruggle, Au.D.
1213 Hylton Heights Road, #105
Manhattan, KS 66503
Phone: (785) 537-4005
kruggle@audiologist.org
audiologist.org/news/convention/index.cfm.We are expecting a great turnout!
Please take the time to review the enclosed bylaws and the proposed changes. Needless to say, the
membership meeting in Arizona will be lively and exciting as we consider a name change for ADA.
Either way the vote turns out, history is going to be made at that meeting!
• Check out my timely article in “Industry Insider.” Are we going to see manufacturer consolida-
Publisher
Jay Strother
jstrother@audiologist.org
tion again? The quick answer appears to be “yes,” but the details will be the interesting part.You
Managing Editor
Theresa Rubinas
trubinas@audiologist.org
• There are more stories in the works, and we are already working to cover them for you in the
Advertising
Diane Sherel
dsherel@mrvica.com
Executive Director
Kevin Hacke
can expect Feedback to stay on top of all of the developments in the magazine’s upcoming issues.
last issue of Feedback after the convention.With all of the events mentioned above, I am at a loss
to predict the “hot topic” of the ADA convention in October. Perhaps we don’t even know
what the hot topic is yet?
Certainly this is an exciting time to be an editor!
Association Manager
Meghan Carey
Association Assistant
Alexis Bauer
ADA Headquarters
401 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
Kevin Ruggle,Au.D.
Feedback Editor
drruggle@kansas.net
(866) 493-5544 or (312) 527-6748
Fax: (312) 673-6725
Feedback is the official publication of the Academy of
Dispensing Audiologists®. Feedback is published four
times a year with deadlines of January 15, April 15,
July 15, and October 15. Contributions are welcomed but
the Editor reserves the right to accept or reject any
material for publication. All articles published in this
magazine represent solely the individual opinions of the
writers and not necessarily those of the Academy of
Dispensing Audiologists®.
8
MISSION STATEMENT
It is the mission of Feedback to provide doctoral-level technical, professional, business, and Academy information in a way
that prepares the ADA membership to achieve professional success, and ensure that Audiologists have the choice of
practicing autonomously as the recognized leaders in hearing and balance care and dispensing hearing instruments.
Could the ADA be the Academy
of Doctors of Audiology?
Continued On
Next Page
FEEDBACK • VOLUME 17, NUMBER 3 • Fall 2006
9
Feature What’s In A Name?
To: all Fellows of The Academy of Dispensing Audiologists
Re: Bylaws Changes
Effective Date of Proposed Changes: Upon approval by majority vote of the members
attending the annual membership meeting on October 14, 2006
he occasion of our organization
entering its 30th year gives us an
opportunity to reflect on the
many changes to the practice of
audiology during that time.
In 1977, the only national organization
then representing audiologists was the
American Speech and Hearing Association
(ASHA). At that time ASHA’s Code of
Ethics deemed hearing aid dispensing by
audiologists to be “unethical” if done for
profit. In 1977, the typical audiologist
worked in a hospital clinic,an otolaryngology practice, or the VA. Private practice
was all but unknown, and those few who
chose that route did so at the peril of forfeiting their ASHA membership. A few
were actually formally dismissed from
ASHA for daring to openly dispense hearing aids as part of a for-profit professional
practice. Finding this absurd and detrimental to audiology and consumers,a small
group of visionary entrepreneurial audiologists formed the Academy of Dispensing
Audiologists (ADA) for the purpose of
incorporating hearing aid dispensing into
audiology practice as a viable, appropriate,
and necessary means of treatment for hearing impaired patients.
Audiology in 2006 looks very different,
indeed. The typical graduate holds a
Doctor of Audiology degree, hearing aid
dispensing (for profit) is a part of nearly
every practice, regardless of setting, and
our scope of practice has expanded to
include, among other things, balance care
and cerumen management.Private practice
audiology is no longer thought of as a foreign concept.
You can all be proud that your Academy
was at the forefront of nearly all of these
major changes. It was ADA that promoted
dispensing of hearing aids as a legitimate
part of audiologic practice;it was ADA that
first gave birth to the Au.D. movement; it
T
10
was ADA that first offered training courses
in cerumen management.
Through all of these changes, our bylaws
have changed very little, with the exception of 1998 when the Au.D. was codified
into the bylaws by a majority vote of
the membership as a condition for future
membership.
At the same time these changes were
happening in audiology, much was happening in communication technology,
specifically with forms of communication
like electronic mail, the Internet and teleconferencing.
As we go forward into the next 30 years,
our Board believes that it is necessary to
revise our bylaws to strengthen them, clarify them and recognize the changes that
have occurred in our profession.
With that framework, attached for your
review and eventual approval is a document with the ADA Board of Directors’
recommendations for needed changes.
Some are substantive while others are more
in the category of “housekeeping.”In order
to guide you through this document, we
have created a roadmap below to the
essence of these changes:
I.The ADA Board proposes that the
name of the organization be changed
to The Academy of Doctors of Audiology,
while retaining the same acronym
(ADA) and logo.
Over the years, the dispensing of hearing
aids by audiologists has become a basic practice essential to patient care.And throughout this period ADA has been successful in
providing education and business support to
audiologists who dispense hearing aids in
their practices. It has also been responsible
for encouraging audiology training programs to incorporate hearing aid dispensing
and business practices into audiology curricula at accredited universities.
In 1988, ADA sponsored the National
Conference on Professional Education.The
outcome resulted in the creation of audiology’s first professional degree, i.e., the
Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.). ADA has
since been one of the primary supporters
and agents of change in transitioning and
advancing audiology to a doctoring profession. ADA is considered the “Home of
Doctors of Audiology.”
The Au.D. degree represents the entrypoint qualification for audiology practice
and is considered a general practice degree
representing a broad scope of practice.Since
the advent of the Au.D., ADA has adapted
to and expanded its educational programming and philosophy to reflect the contemporary practice of audiology. Just as the
Academy of Dispensing Audiologists
infused hearing aid dispensing into the profession and into the public arena beginning
in 1977, the Academy of Doctors of
Audiology (ADA) name change in 2006
will enable ADA to continue with updated
and more relevant Mission and Objectives
(see below).
II. Mission and Objectives
Since hearing aid dispensing is now a
basic part of our practices,we felt it was necessary to realign our objectives. We have
shifted the emphasis from “dispensing” to
the support of the autonomous practice of
audiology and the promotion of the Au.D.
degree.Additionally,we have expanded our
mission statement to include balance care,
in recognition of our expanded scope of
practice.
III. Membership categories
A. Fellow Membership – No substantial
changes to requirements, but a general
“cleanup”of the confusing patchwork language in this section and elimination of
redundant or unnecessary documentation.
What’s In A Name? Feature
B. Associate Membership – Removal of the
Au.D. requirement for Associate (i.e., nonvoting,non-officeholding) Membership to
allow for others supportive of our mission
to join – this includes allied professional
fields,and is restricted to include only those
with graduate (post-baccalaureate) degrees.
An “Associate” or “Affiliate” type of membership category exists in virtually every
major professional organization, and typically is a very small number compared to
the total membership.
C. Student Membership – No substantial
changes
D. Honorary Membership – NEW category, also in line with that found in virtually
all major professional groups. Restricted
category as in Associate Membership
E. Life Membership – NEW category –
reserved exclusively for Fellows deemed to
have earned this designation by BOD vote
or organizational policy (for example, past
Presidents of ADA). Have full rights, same
as Fellows.
terms. Thus the total number of Board
Members will remain the same (8), but all
five Directors-at-Large will serve staggered
3-year terms.
C. Designation of Secretary and Treasurer:
Each October following elections, upon
the first Board Meeting with the new
Directors, the Board will elect two of the
Directors-at-Large to serve as Treasurer and
Secretary for the coming year. Directors
may serve for more than one year as
Treasurer or Secretary if they wish and if
they are re-confirmed by a vote of the
BOD.This change allows for better coordination of staggered terms,and also allows
Directors with specific skills or interests to
perform these more specialized tasks.
V. Additional Changes
The remaining changes in the document
are of the “housekeeping“ sort and add or
delete language that makes this document
compatible with electronic communication
(primarily e-mail, Internet and teleconferencing).Additionally there are some minor
language changes regarding Executive
Management which reflect the reality of
the current organizational structure.
Your Board of Directors welcomes any
questions or discussion regarding the proposed changes. ■
The complete bylaws appear
in the pages that follow.
August 10, 20
06
Academy of
Dispensing Au
diologists
401 North Mi
chigan Avenue
Chicago, IL
60611
T: 866.493.5
544
F: 312.673.6
725
W: www.audi
ologist.org
Dear ADA M
embers,
This letter is
a request for
member supp
the Academy
ort to change
of Dispensin
the name of
g Audiologist
(ADA). At th
our organiza
s (ADA) to th
is year’s busine
tion from
e Academy of
ss meeting he
you will have
Doctors of A
ld for membe
an opportun
udiolo
rs only at the
ity to vote on
annual conven gy
this proposed
Each of the si
tion,
bylaws change
gnatories of th
, among othe
is letter is a pa
forward thin
rs.
st-president of
king name ch
an
A
ge to the Aca
DA. We are
In 1977, a ha
demy of Doc
in favor of th
ndful of audi
tors of Audio
is
ologists, muc
logy.
audiologists
h like you, di
could not sell
sa
gr
hearing aids
eed with ASH
ADA was foun
for profit to
A’s position th
ded with the
their patients
at
intention of
practice of au
. As a conseq
in
fusing the di
diology. Mis
uence, the
spensing of he
sion accompl
the profession
ished!
aring aids into
and no longer
the
the exception. “Dispensing” now is stan
In 1988, AD
dard practice
A sponsored
for
a national co
became that
nference on pr
audiology wou
of
es
sional educat
ld
professional
ion. The visi
degree - the D be a doctoring profession
on
. Hence, the
octor of Aud
profession, A
creation of th
io
logy (Au.D.)
DA members
e first
. Dedicated
voted in 1998
requirement.
to advancing
to incorporat
our
e the Au.D. as
ADA’s membe
The term “D
ispensing” serv
rship
ed our membe
and identifier
rs and organi
of our organi
zation’s purpos
zation since it
beyond, let ou
e well as a de
s in
r vision, goal
scriptor
s, and mission ception. During the 21st
Doctors of A
century and
continue to be
udiology.
served by the
Academy of
Sincerely,
IV. Board of Directors Offices and
Terms
A.President-Elect,President,Immediate Past
President: Currently the term of each of
these is 2 years, which means that anyone
elected to President-Elect is obligated for
6 years of service as they rotate through
the three positions. Additionally, this
occurs after (generally) a number of years
of service on the BOD as a Director or
Officer. It was felt that this was too long
a period to serve if we wish to attract
more people to become involved with
and lead the organization, so the proposed change reduces this to a 1-year
term for each, so that the entire commitment is 3 years after an earlier period of Board service.
B. Directors and Officers: Currently
there are three Directors-at-Large
Herbert McC
ollom, Jr.
who serve staggered 3-year terms of
Michael Polla
service,and a Treasurer and Secretary
ck
Marlene Bev
an
Thomas Zac
who each serve 2-year terms. We
hman
James M. McD
Kenneth Sm
propose a modification of this struconald Sc.D,
ith
Au.D
Cynthia Elliso
n, Au.D.
ture regarding the Treasurer and
The ADA is
dedicated to
Secretary. Under the proposal, the
leadership in
autonomy, hea
advancing pra
ring technolo
ctition
gy and sound
business practic er excellence, high ethica
l standards, pro
es in the provisi
Treasurer and Secretary will no
fessional
on of quality
audiological
care.
longer be elected by the
Membership as such, but will be elected
initially as Directors-at-Large with 3-year
11
ADA Bylaws
Bylaws of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology® (Amended October 2006)
ARTICLE I
ARTICLE III
Name and Offices
Members
The name of the organization shall be the Academy
of Doctors of Audiology (hereafter referred to as
ADA). The ADA shall maintain a registered office in
Pennsylvania and a registered agent at such office.
The ADA may have other offices either in or out of
Pennsylvania.
SECTION 1.
ARTICLE II
Mission and Objectives
SECTION 1.
Mission - The Academy of Doctors of Audiology is
dedicated to leadership in advancing practitioner
excellence, high ethical standards, professional
autonomy, hearing and balance care technology,
and sound business practices in the provision of
quality audiological care.
SECTION 2.
Objectives
2.1 Foster the autonomous practice of audiology by
Doctors of Audiology.
2.2 Support research that advances the contemporary practice of audiology.
2.3 Work with individuals and organizations to
improve the quality and availability of audiological services.
2.4 Promote the benefits of the autonomous practice of audiology to Doctors of Audiology, the
public, academic institutions, legislators, governmental agencies, and other interested parties.
2.5 Promote the Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) as the
recognized professional degree to enter the
practice of audiology.
2.6 Provide business and professional resources
for Doctors of Audiology to assist them in the
development and maintenance of their
autonomous practices.
2.7 Promote Doctors of Audiology as the professionals most qualified to provide hearing and
balance care to the general public.
2.8 Provide members with professional training,
continuing education and networking opportunities.
12
Classes of Members - The ADA shall have five classes of members: Fellow,Associate, Student, Honorary
and Life. The designation of such classes and the
qualifications for membership in each class shall be
as follows:
1.1 Fellow– Are voting members of the ADA, and
shall be open to any individual with an earned
degree in audiology who agrees to be bound by
the ADA Code of Ethics, and who meets at least
one of the criteria below:
1.1.1 Holds the Au.D. degree from a regionally
accredited educational institution;
1.1.2 Is enrolled in an Au.D. degree program at a
regionally accredited educational institution prior to December 31, 2007; or,
1.1.3 Was a Fellow of the ADA prior to January
1, 2001, regardless of academic degree;
1.2 Associate - Shall be open to any individual
who possesses a graduate degree in audiology or an allied profession and who supports the
activities and goals of the ADA, but who does not
meet any of the membership criteria for
Fellowship in Article III, Section 1.1.
1.2.1 Associate members shall have the rights
and privileges of Fellows, except that
Associate members may not vote in ADA
matters; may not chair committees; may
not hold elective office; and may not
use the ADA name and/or logo in any
form of advertisement or other commercial purpose.
1.3 Student - Shall be open to any individual who
does not possess an earned degree in audiology, who is currently enrolled full time in an Au.D.
degree program at a regionally accredited educational institution, and who supports the activities and goals of the ADA.
1.3.1 Student members shall have such privileges, benefits, and obligations as the
Board of Directors (hereafter referred to as
the BOD) establishes from time to time,
but shall not be able to vote, hold elective
office in ADA, or represent their membership in ADA as an indication of professional competence.
1.4 Honorary - Honorary membership will be
reserved for those individuals whom the Board
deems qualified to receive special consideration
for membership, whether or not the individual
qualifies for membership under one of the categories specified by the bylaws. Honorary members may not vote in ADA matters; may not
chair committees; may not hold elective office;
and may not use the ADA name and/or logo in
any form of advertisement or other commercial
purpose.
1.5 Life - Life membership will be reserved for
those Fellow members whom the Board deems
qualified to receive special consideration for
life membership. Life members are voting members of the ADA with all the rights and privileges
of Fellow members.
1.6 Membership may not be suspended or terminated except as provided for in Article III, SECTION 4.
SECTION 2.
Application for Membership –
2.1 The BOD shall establish membership application procedures and protocols that shall be
administered by the executive staff of ADA.
2.2 Applicants shall submit an approved application
form with dues and fees before the application
may be processed.
SECTION 3.
Voting Rights - Each Fellow and Life Member shall
be entitled to vote on each matter submitted to a vote
of the membership.
SECTION 4.
Suspension and Termination –
4.1 The Board of Directors may, by affirmative vote
of two-thirds of all the directors, censure, suspend or expel a member for cause after an
appropriate hearing, conducted in accordance
with procedures adopted by the Board of
Directors. The Board may, by a majority vote of
the directors present at a meeting at which a
quorum is present, terminate the membership
of any member who becomes ineligible for
membership.
4.1.1 Sufficient cause for such action shall be violation of the Bylaws or any lawful rule or
practice duly adopted by ADA or any conduct prejudicial to its interests, including a
violation of ADA’s Code of Ethics.
4.1.2 The BOD may suspend or terminate any
member who shall be in default in the
payment of dues.
Bylaws ADA
SECTION 5.
SECTION 5.
Resignation - any member may resign by filing a
written resignation with the ADA executive staff or
BOD,but such resignation shall not relieve the resigning member of the obligation to pay any accrued or
unpaid dues, assessments or other charges.
Attendance by Telephone
SECTION 6.
Reinstatement - Upon written request signed by a
former member and filed with the ADA executive staff
or BOD, the BOD may reinstate such former member to membership.
SECTION 7.
Transfer of Membership - Membership in ADA is
neither transferable nor assignable to any other individual in any capacity.
ARTICLE IV
Membership Meetings
SECTION 1.
Annual Meeting - At least one annual meeting of the
members shall be held at the annual conference, the
time, date, and place of which will be fixed by the
BOD.
SECTION 2.
5.1 Members may participate in any meeting
through the use of a conference telephone or
similar communications equipment by means
of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other; and such participation
in a meeting shall constitute presence in person
at the meeting.
5.2 Expense for such teleconference attendance
shall be the responsibility of the member(s)
requiring such special service.
2.1.4.2 The President of the Board will manage the election of the Secretary
and Treasurer by the BOD.
2.2 Each elected officer shall take office at the conclusion of the annual meeting.
2.3 The Treasurer and Secretary shall be eligible for
re-election by the BOD.
2.4 The President-Elect shall be eligible for re-election by the membership after the cycle of succession to President and Immediate Past
President has been completed.
SECTION 3.
SECTION 6.
Directors
Manner of Action – The act of a majority of the voting members present at any Annual or Special
Meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the
act of the membership, unless the act of a greater
number is required by statute, the Articles of
Incorporation, or these Bylaws.
3.1 The five (5) Directors, of whom three (3) shall
remain Directors-at- Large, shall be elected to
staggered three-year terms in the manner specified in Article VII of these Bylaws.
SECTION 7.
Approval of Minutes - The members present at each
membership meeting shall consider for approval
the minutes of the immediate preceding membership meeting.
3.2 Directors other than the President-Elect,
President and Immediate Past President shall be
eligible for re-election.
3.2.1 The President-Elect shall be eligible for reelection under the terms of Article V,
SECTION 2.4.
SECTION 4.
Special Meetings - Special meetings of the members
may be called by a majority of the BOD or not less
than two-fifths of the Fellows of ADA.
ARTICLE V
Duties
Board of Directors
4.1 President
SECTION 3.
Composition and Election - The BOD shall consist of
eight directors: the President, President-Elect,
Treasurer, Secretary, Immediate Past-President, and
three Directors-at-Large.
Notice of Meetings –
3.1 Written notice stating the time, date, and place
of the annual meeting of members shall be delivered to each member not less than sixty (60)
days before the date of such meeting.
SECTION 1.
SECTION 2.
Officers
3.2 In the case of a removal of one or more directors,
a merger, consolidation, dissolution or sale, lease
or exchange of assets, written notice shall be
delivered not less than twenty (20) nor more than
sixty (60) days before the date of such meeting.
2.1 The elected officers of ADA shall be PresidentElect, Treasurer and Secretary.
3.3 In case of a special meeting or when required
by statute or by these Bylaws, the purpose for
which the meeting is called shall be stated in the
notice.
2.1.2 Each year the current President-Elect will
succeed to the office of President for a
one-year term.
3.4 If mailed, the notice of a meeting shall be
deemed delivered when deposited in the United
States mail addressed to the member’s last
address as it appears on the records of ADA,
with postage prepaid.
SECTION 4.
Quorum: A minimum of ten percent (10%) of the total
voting members of the ADA present in person at any
Annual or Special Meeting of the Membership shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of official ADA
business.
2.1.1 The President-Elect shall be elected annually in the manner specified in Article VII
of these Bylaws.
2.1.3 Each year the current President will succeed to the position of Immediate Past
President for a one year term.
2.1.4 All Directors who are qualified according
to the By-laws of ADA may stand for election to the positions of Secretary or
Treasurer of ADA.
2.1.4.1 Election of the Secretary and
Treasurer by the BOD will occur at
the first BOD meeting after the
election of the new Directors
each year.
4.1.1 The President shall communicate matters
to promote the welfare and increase the
usefulness of ADA directly to the membership and the BOD at any lawful meeting of ADA or at such times as is deemed
proper.
4.1.2 The President shall perform all other
duties that are necessarily incident to the
office or as may be delegated by
the BOD.
4.1.3 The President shall perform such other
duties applicable to the office as prescribed by the parliamentary authority
adopted by the organization
4.2 President-Elect
4.2.1 The President-Elect shall serve to assure
continuity and the benefit of experienced
leadership for ADA. Upon completing this
term of office, the President-Elect shall
succeed to the office of President.
4.2.2 During this term of office, the PresidentElect will assist the President in performing whatever duties may be assigned.
4.2.3 If the President is unable to perform the
duties of the office, the BOD may delegate those to the President-Elect.
Continued On Next Page
13
ADA Bylaws
4.2.4 The President-Elect shall perform such
other duties applicable to the office as
prescribed by the parliamentary authority adopted by the organization
4.3 Treasurer
4.3.1 The Treasurer shall oversee the accounting of all monies received and expended
as authorized by the BOD, and as implemented by Executive Staff.
4.3.2 The Treasurer shall submit to the BOD a
proposed budget for each upcoming fiscal year.The budget must be approved by
a majority vote of the BOD.
6.1 Supervise and control the affairs of ADA.
6.2 Determine ADA policies within the limits of the
Bylaws.
6.3 Actively pursue objectives, and have discretion
in the disbursement of ADA funds.
6.4 Set annual dues and establish fees for meetings,
products, and services.
SECTION 7. Meetings of the BOD –
7.1 The BOD shall have a regular meeting at the
time and place of the annual meetings.
4.3.3 The Treasurer shall report about the financial status of ADA to the membership at
the annual meeting.
7.2 The BOD may provide by resolution the time and
place for the holding of additional regular meetings of the Board without notice other than such
resolution.
4.3.4 The Treasurer shall perform such other
7.3 Special meetings of the BOD may be called by
the President or any three directors, and the person[s] calling a special meeting of the BOD shall
fix the time and place of any such meeting.
4.4 Secretary
4.4.1 The Secretary shall ensure that the
Executive Staff gives written notice of all
meetings to the membership.
Executive Staff takes minutes at meetings of the membership and the BOD, and
that it reports all important correspondence to the BOD. The Secretary shall
review all such minutes for completeness.
Executive Staff keeps a roster of all members of ADA and of the standing committees.
4.4.4 The Secretary shall perform such other
4.5 Directors-At-Large
4.5.1 Directors-at-Large will serve as a liaison
between the Board and membership-atlarge and will be available to respond to
member inquiries.
4.5.2 The Directors-at-Large shall perform such
other duties applicable to the office as
prescribed by the parliamentary authority
adopted by the organization.
SECTION 5. Executive Staff.
5.1 The BOD may employ or appoint an executive,
and other agents as necessary, to manage the
affairs of ADA on such terms as the BOD determines.The executive and any agents who have
fiscal responsibility shall be bonded.
14
SECTION 6. General Powers of the BOD.
Section 8. Notice –
8.1 Notice of any meeting of the BOD shall be given
at least fourteen (14) days previous thereto by
written, fax or electronic notice to each director
at the email or postal address or fax number
shown for each director on the records of ADA.
8.2 Such notice shall be deemed to be delivered
when deposited in the United States mail in a
sealed envelope so addressed with postage
prepaid, or by the Sent date on an email notice.
If notice shall be given by facsimile, such notice
shall be deemed to be delivered when the fax
has been sent by the executive staff or by the
President.
8.3 Notice of any special meeting of the BOD will be
waived if the person or persons entitled to such
notice sign a waiver. Such waiver may be signed
either before or after the time of the meeting.
8.4 Neither the business to be transacted at, nor
the purpose of, any regular or special meeting of
the BOD need be specified in the notice or waiver of notice of such meeting, unless specifically
required by law or by these Bylaws.
SECTION 9. Quorum –
9.1 At all meetings of the BOD a majority of the total
number of directors shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business.
9.2 If less than a majority of the directors is present at said meeting, a majority of the directors
present may adjourn the meeting to another
time without further notice.
SECTION 10.
Manner of Action - The act of a majority of the directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is pres-
ent shall be the act of the BOD, unless the act of a
greater number is required by statute, the Articles of
Incorporation, or these Bylaws.
SECTION 11.
Action Without Meeting - Any action required to be
taken at a meeting of the BOD, or any other action
which may be taken at a meeting of directors, may
be taken without a meeting if a consent in writing,
setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by
all the directors entitled to vote with respect to the
subject matter thereof.
SECTION 12.
Absences - Any member of the BOD unable to attend
a meeting shall communicate to the President and
executive staff, stating the reason for the absence.
If a director is absent from two (2) consecutive meetings for reasons that the BOD has failed to find sufficient, his or her resignation may be deemed to
have been tendered and accepted.
SECTION 13.
Attendance by Telephone - Directors may participate
in any meeting through the use of a conference telephone or similar communications equipment by
means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and such participation in a
meeting shall constitute presence in person at the
meeting.
SECTION 14.
Compensation - Directors shall not receive any
salaries for their services.
14.1 Expenses for attendance, if any, may be paid for
each regular or special meeting of the BOD.
14.2 Nothing herein contained shall be construed to
preclude any director from serving ADA in any
other capacity and receiving reasonable compensation.
SECTION 15.
Vacancies and Removal –
15.1 Vacancies -When vacancies in the offices of
Immediate Past President, President-Elect,
Secretary,Treasurer,or Director-at-Large occur,
the President may appoint an individual (s) to fill
the vacancies for the unexpired term with the
approval of the BOD. If the vacancy is in the
President position,the President-Elect will fill the
position.The appointed Board member shall be
seated at the next regular board meeting, and
will fill the position only until the expiration of the
term of the person he/she replaces.The appointed Board member may be eligible to be nominated for election at the next regular election if
the Board member meets all requirements to be
a member of the Board.
15.2 Removal – The BOD may vote to remove any
Board member for cause by a 2/3 vote of the
Bylaws ADA
Board members present at an official meeting
of the BOD
15.2.1 Causes for removal can be, but are not
limited to:negligence of Board duties and
responsibilities; failure to attend Board
meetings regularly; illegal activity as a
member of the BOD; or acting in any
manner detrimental to ADA.
ARTICLE VI
Committees
SECTION 1.
Creation of Committees - The BOD, except as provided in Article VII, may create one (1) or more committees consisting of one or more directors.
SECTION 2.
Manner of Acting
2.1 Each committee shall act in accordance with the
purpose for creating such committee.
2.2 Except as limited by law, the Articles of
Incorporation, or these Bylaws, each committee
shall have and exercise the authority granted by
its creation.
2.3 The designation of such committees and the delegation thereto of authority shall not relieve the
BOD, or any individual director, of a responsibility imposed upon it, him, or her by law.
ARTICLE VII
Nominations and Elections
SECTION 1.
Nominating Committee
1.1 The BOD shall appoint a Nominating Committee
of three (3) members to nominate candidates for
Directors whose terms are expiring at the next
annual meeting (with the exception of the current President and Immediate Past-President).
One of the committee members shall be the
Immediate Past President, who will serve as
chair.
1.2 The Committee shall notify the Secretary or
Executive Staff in writing at least one hundred
fifty (150) days before the date of the annual
meeting of the membership of the names of the
candidates that it proposes.
1.2.1 The Secretary or Executive Staff shall mail
a list of the proposed candidates to the last
recorded address of each Fellow and Life
Member at least one hundred thirty-five
(135) days before the annual meeting,
along with a statement of the procedure for
independent nominations as set forth in
Article VII SECTION 2 of these Bylaws.
1.2.2 The Secretary or Executive Staff shall mail
a ballot of all candidates to the last recorded address of each voting member at
least ninety (90) days prior to the annual
meeting of ADA.
1.3 The marked ballots must be returned to the
Secretary or Executive Staff at least forty-five
(45) days prior to the annual meeting of ADA in
order to be counted as a vote.
1.4 Any candidate for a position who receives a
majority vote of the Fellows voting will be considered to have been elected to that position.
1.5 Results of this election will be announced at the
annual meeting.
SECTION 2.
Independent Nominations - Fellows or Life Members
may submit independent nominations by mail by
submitting the name(s) of nominees to the Chair of
the Nominating Committee one hundred five (105)
days in advance of the annual meeting. The Chair
shall confirm that any Fellow or Life Member so
nominated is willing and able to serve if elected.
SECTION 3.
Eligibility – Only Fellow or Life Members are eligible
to hold elective office in the ADA.
ARTICLE VIII
SECTION 4.
Delivery of Notice - Any notice required to be given
by statute, the Articles of Incorporation or these
Bylaws, shall be deemed to be delivered according
to the following rules: upon personal delivery; if by
mail, when deposited in the United States mail in a
sealed envelope, properly addressed, with postage
prepaid; if by facsimile, when the facsimile is sent
via the facsimile number shown for the
member/director on the records of the Association;
and if by overnight mail, when deposited with the
shipping company in a sealed envelope, properly
addressed, with shipping charges prepaid or billed
to sender’s account.
SECTION 5.
Waiver of Notice -Whenever any notice is required
to be given under law, the Articles of Incorporation
or the Bylaws of ADA, a waiver thereof in writing
signed by the person or persons entitled to such
notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent to the giving of such
notice. Attendance of a person at any meeting shall
constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except
where a person attends a meeting for the express
purpose of objecting, at the beginning of the meeting, to the transaction of any business because the
meeting was not lawfully called or convened.
General Provisions
SECTION 6.
SECTION 1.
Seal - ADA shall have a seal of such design as the
BOD may adopt.
The BOD must authorize any officer(s) or agent(s) of
ADA to enter into any contract or execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of
ADA before such contract or instrument can be executed. Such authority may be general or confined to
specific instances.
SECTION 7.
Official Authority - The official authority on all matters of parliamentary procedure not specifically stated in the Bylaws shall be the latest edition of Robert’s
Rules of Order, Newly Revised.
SECTION 2.
Checks, Drafts, Etc.
ARTICLE IX
2.1 All funds of ADA shall be deposited or invested
from time to time to the credit of ADA in such
banks, trust companies, or other depositories as
the BOD may select per written Board policies.
Amendments
2.2 All checks, drafts or other orders for the payment
of money, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of ADA shall be
signed by such officer(s) or agent(s) of ADA and
in such manner as shall from time to time, be
determined by resolution of the BOD.
2.3 In the absence of such determination by the
BOD, such instruments shall be signed by the
Treasurer and countersigned by the President
of ADA.
SECTION 3.
These Bylaws may be amended, in whole or in
part, by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Fellows and
Life Members present at any duly organized meeting of ADA provided that a copy of any amendment
proposed for consideration shall be mailed by the
Executive Staff to the last recorded address of each
Fellow and Life Member at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of the meeting. All proposed amendments shall be submitted to BOD no less than
ninety (90) days prior to any duly scheduled meeting at which the proposed amendment will be presented to membership in attendance with
recommendations from the BOD.The effective date
of any proposed amendment shall be specified
within that amendment.
Fiscal Year - The fiscal year of ADA shall be January
1 to December 31.
15
16
Can’t You Hear What They Hear? Feature
featured the
President of
the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists
(ADA),Craig Johnson,Au.D.,in a live interview Monday, June 12. The interview
focused on high-frequency ring tones that
younger people, particularly students, are
downloading to their cell phones. Older
adults are generally unable to hear these
higher frequencies; thus, students are using
these ring tones as a way to keep their
phones turned on during school. Dr.
Johnson commented on why older adults are
unable to hear these higher frequencies as
well as the potential effects these tones can
have on younger populations.
The interview was a great step for audiologists as another form of recognition for
the profession and what audiology means.
During the interview, Dr. Johnson clearly
explained the phenomenon of the ring tones
and why the sounds were only audible to
younger ears. He skillfully details the way
that humans hear and how age is not the
only factor - an individual’s surroundings
play a role as well.
MSNBC
MSNBC - June 12, 2006: Audiologist Dr. Craig
Johnson talks to MSNBC-TV’s Chris Jansing
about a high-pitched mobile phone ring tone
that only young ears can hear.
CHRIS JANSING: Now we want to go
back to a story we told you about a little earlier - that new ring tone that kids are using
on their cell phones.It’s a high-pitched tone.
A lot of adults can’t hear it. So kids can be
alerted they have text messages or calls without their teachers knowing.All right here’s
a check... can you hear this? 5-4-3-2-1.All
right come on play it.Huh?You already did?
CHRIS JANSING: Joining me now live
from Baltimore, Dr. Craig Johnson president of the Academy of Dispensing
Audiologists.Welcome Dr. Johnson.
DR. CRAIG JOHNSON: Thank you
very much it’s a pleasure to be here.
CHRIS JANSING: Why couldn’t I hear
that?
DR. CRAIG JOHNSON: Well, you
couldn’t hear that really for two reasons.
First off I’m sure you’re young, so we have
to rub that out.Secondly the transistor itself,
the medium how that sound is delivered to
you, is going to vary from speaker to speaker to speaker.So probably not all cell phones
are created equally in terms that they deliver that tone.So I hope you feel better about
your age already
CHRIS JANSING: Not so much because
I’ve been reading about something called
aging ear. I checked I didn’t have any wrinkles.What does that exactly mean?
DR. CRAIG JOHNSON:Well what that
means is there’s actually two factors that
affects you being able to hear that ring tone.
The first factor is the age factor, which has
been reported by the media.The other factor - the direction of the sound - has not been
reported just yet.But what happens when we
come to the face of the planet, we’re given a
certain amount of hearing and as we go
along in decade after decade, two things
change. First, your sensitivity to sound
changes and also the pitch range that you’re
able to hear also starts to shrink and narrow.
Normally as doctors of audiology we’re concerned about the communication range, so
that high-pitched hearing is really not important. However we’ve actually found some
creative engineers to make use of the extreme
high pitches. Just to give you an example...
normally when we’re 20 years old we can
hear up to about 18,000 kilohertz (kHz) or
so. Normally for speech we need to hear
through about 6,000 kHz or so,so quite a bit
of a difference there.But by the time we turn
60,we’re down 7,000 in terms of that range.
We’re down to 11,000 kHz cycles per second in terms of pitch range. So, the pitch
range in the upper range of hearing,narrows.
But, the other part of the story, which hasn’t
been told just yet,and that is the direction of
these sounds.When that child,the individual,
holds a cell phone towards them, they’re
gonna have a higher probability of hearing
that signal than if the cell phone is turned
away from them.And that’s because high frequency sounds are highly diffractive, which
means that they can be broken out very easily by the direction of the sound. So that’s
really the other reason why they may work
for a young person.
CHRIS JANSING: Well here’s the question a lot of parents out there are asking.Can
it hurt them? Can it hurt their kids?
DR. CRAIG JOHNSON: Well, it’s like
any other sound. Too much sound is not
good.And what we tell parents all the time
with the digital recorders is that if they cannot have a conversation with that young
person within a meter or so, then it’s too
loud.Turn that down.For the young person,
since an adult can’t hear that high pitched
sound,if it’s a piercing sound,if it’s extremely loud and uncomfortable to that child, I
would think they would turn that down.
But, any sound can be harmful. It’s just a
question of how loud these manufacturers
allow those ring tones to be, even in that
normal level.
CHRIS JANSING: Dr. Johnson, thanks
very much for clearing all that up.
DR. CRAIG JOHNSON: You’re quite
welcome.
fter the interview wrapped up, it
was clear that Jansing as well as
much of the viewing public were
clearer on why only certain ears can
hear the high-pitched ring tones. Indeed, the explanation of pitch ranges and
outside factors contributing to a person’s
ability hear helped in unlocking the
conundrum of the silent, high-pitched
ring tones. At least now there is more
awareness for teachers and parents as to
what may be distracting their students and
their children.
In general, Dr. Johnson noted that people simply need to be more aware of the
implications of high-frequency tones, as
any loud sound can adversely affect the
hearing of both the young and old. Many
factors contribute to good hearing and different entities are responsible for protecting
that sense. First and foremost, individuals
need to be conscious of their own hearing.
Manufacturers carry a certain responsibility when they allow ring tones to be significantly above a normal level. Parents,
teachers, the media and others should also
be aware of the negative effects of overstimulation with technology in terms of
noise and distractions.
Visit MSNBC’s Web site, where you can
watch the interview and read the accompanying article: http://www.msnbc.
msn.com/id/13274669/ ■
A
17
Value Creation for Audiologists:
Lessons from Corporate America
By Steve W. Henson, Ph.D. and Susan J. Williamson, Au.D.
18
Value Creation For Audiologists Feature
T
he Baby Boom is still making its mark.These post-World War II babies are aging,
and, just as they have at every other stage in their lives, they change the landscape
of demographics and buyer trends on everything they touch.
The market for hearing services and products is no exception. Boomers are
radically changing the audiology marketplace. Yet very little has been written about
specific business strategies audiologists can use to capture these demographics and
trends most powerfully.
What can you do? Audiologists can use different competitive strategies to create value in their own
practices in the face of this new demographic opportunity.Well-known large companies serve as
examples to help illustrate available strategic choices.
Defining Terminology
An organization’s competitive strategy
defines its unique positioning in a market,
relative to the strategies of its competitors.
Value describes the total monetary worth of
a practice. Economic profits describe the
profits an enterprise generates after they
deduct the market salaries for the owner.
Economic Profits and Their
Relationship to Value
All publicly traded corporation’s profits
are economic profits, but often smaller
enterprises - such as audiology practices may have little or no economic profits.An
easy way to determine if a practice has economic profits is to see what would happen
to profitability if the owner-practitioner
retired from the practice and hired a replacement at market rates. Remember, this may
mean hiring both an audiologist and an
office manager,because many owner-practitioners do both.
For example, an audiology practice with
gross revenues of $500,000 and a net aftertax income of $10,000 might have significant economic profits, or might have no
economic profits at all. If the audiologist/owner of the practice draws a $100,000
salary, leases a company car for annual fees
of $10,000, has an office manager for support and spends $50,000 annually on travel and entertainment, economic profits are
significant.An outside buyer could purchase
the practice, hire an audiologist, reduce
expenses, cancel the car lease and eliminate
travel.
On the other hand, in a practice where
the audiologist is only able to draw a median salary and has no office manager, no car
lease and no money available for travel and
entertainment, the practice might not have
economic profits at all. An outside buyer
purchasing the practice would probably
have to pay more to hire an audiologist especially one who must also manage the
practice’s business aspects.
Current economic profits plus expected
future economic profits,adjusted for growth
and risk,are key determinants of a practice’s
value.Add the value of assets (such as buildings and equipment) and intangible hidden
values (such as brand, human capital, customer satisfaction, organizational knowledge and anything else that create value) for
a better perspective of value.Of course,other factors can complicate the issue,especially
if mergers and acquisitions are part of the
growth strategy of large chain practices.
Strategy as a Profit Generator,
Examples
It’s not that diagnostic skills and good
management aren’t important; it’s simply
that they aren’t sufficient on their own to
create and capture value. Three companies’ strategies have direct implications for
audiology practices.These three organizations include Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Dick’s
Sporting Goods Inc., and the Ukrainian
Federal Credit Union.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc
With just more than $300 billion in revenues annually,Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the history of the world; and it is
probably the most revolutionary. During
the 1970s and ‘80s,retailers that couldn’t sustain 100-percent markups weren’t expected to survive long. Jewelers and other
specialty-product retailers were expected to
have 200-percent markups or more.In oth-
er words, the diamond that cost a retailer
$100 would have to be sold for $300 for the
retailer to be profitable.
Wal-Mart fundamentally changed this
cost-price relationship.With a single-minded devotion to limiting overhead costs and
gaining advantages through size,Wal-Mart
has reduced markups to about 33 percent.
Sticking with the diamond example, the
diamond that costs Wal-Mart $100 will be
sold for $133.This was a shocking adjustment for retailers at all levels who are still
struggling to complete with Wal-Mart.
There are many other elements to WalMart’s strategy, but it is this cost-price relationship that will have the most obvious
impact on audiology practices.
For consumers,especially low- to middleincome consumers, Wal-Mart provides
incredible value. Historically, people don’t
expect Wal-Mart to have a broad range of
products - especially branded luxury products. However,Wal-Mart is making a move
to appeal to more upscale shoppers by
expanding to include organic and gourmet
foods,better wines,high-end consumer electronics and more fashion-forward apparel.
Wal-Mart may not provide great service
or a harmonious atmosphere, but it is making a move to woo the nation’s 78 million
baby boomers. Of special interest to audiologists,the stores are adding walk-in medical clinics to the list of leased health-care
space. This already includes hearing and
vision centers in many parts of the country.
Customers trust Wal-Mart to sell products
at prices that represent significant values.
And as an added bonus for consumers, all
other retailers have to complete with WalMart’s prices.
19
Feature Value Creation For Audiologists
Wal-Mart’s strategy is a classic example
of a low-cost competitor that also realizes
that to continue to create value, it
can’t just keep doing what
works one time when
everything around is
changing. Wal-Mart
doesn’t succeed just by
utilizing its buying
power and employing
power.Wal-Mart manages its
operations so effectively and
efficiently that it is able to
offer prices on its products
that give it a significant,
long-ter m competitive
advantage.
Wal-Mart’s strategy is directly applicable to the audiology
industry. Minimize overhead, minimize markups on products,
maximize patient flow and expand
operations as rapidly as possible to gain
economies of scale.
Even those audiology enterprises that
do not choose Wal-Mart’s strategy will have
to compete with those who do. More
effective and efficient operations and
competitive pricing strategies will be
required. If you don’t believe this, take a
look at Sears, Roebuck and Co., K-Mart, and
all of the other retailers who became stuck
in the middle competing with Wal-Mart,
but not able to be significantly better than
Wal-Mart.
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.
If you were lucky enough to invest
$1,000 in Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc.when
it first went public in late 2002, you now
have about $6,000, one of the fastest stock
appreciations in recent history. Dick’s has
implemented a big-box retailer strategy very
well and it continues to grow.
Dick’s strategy is very different from WalMart’s attack.Dick’s prices are competitive,
but certainly not as low as Wal-Mart’s.
Instead, Dick’s competes by providing
broad and deep product lines within the
categories of competition. Dick’s has large,
fairly upscale, comfortable stores and
knowledgeable staff. Dick’s sales staff might
suggest that you wouldn’t want to buy
Kleenex at Dick’s, and you certainly
20
wouldn’t want to buy pro-tour golf or
deep-sea diving gear at Wal-Mart.
Dick’s must also compete with the many
small mom-and-pop sporting
goods stores and smaller sporting
goods suppliers located in malls.
Dick’s does this by selecting offmall locations with easy access and parking and by operating at a large
enough scale that its marketing
expenditures can dwarf the
expenditures of smaller competitors.
Dick’s approach offers another strategic alternative for value creation for audiologists. If you drive by
any local mall, outside the mall you
will likely see one or more vision-care
facilities that use elements of the bigbox strategy. They are located where
there are lots of potential patients; they
are in facilities that are generally easily
accessible, relatively large and aesthetically pleasing; and they will tend to be very
heavy advertisers, especially if they are part
of a multi-location chain.
As the hearing products and services
industry grows, watch for these big-box
retailers to continue to emerge. If the
industry follows the same pattern as retail
in eye-care products and services, these
super-stores will often start in a single location, grow with a single city or market and
eventually expand regionally or nationally. Super-stores with good expansion
strategies that effectively manage growth
also often become enticing acquisition targets, another path to value creation.
Ukrainian Credit Union
The Ukrainian Credit Union Limited
(UCU) is a $280-million, member-owned
financial cooperative providing 20,000
members with a full range of financial services through 11 branches located in
Ontario, Canada. Ukraine is a midsize
country with fewer than 50 million inhabitants. Historically, many Ukrainians left
their homes for more political freedom
and economic opportunity in the new
worlds. Some of those have settled in
Canada and the UCU was formed to meet
their financial needs.
By focusing on this small market among
the many millions of inhabitants of
Effective Strategies for
Competitive Business
The three alternative strategies
described derive from Michael
Porter’s seminal articles and books
on competitive strategy and competitive advantage. Michael Porter
was among the more influential
business strategists of the 20th
century. He simplifies complex
analyses in ways that provide
insight and lead to sound, logical
decision making.
This article details the low-cost
strategy of Wal-Mart, the differentiated strategy of Dick’s Sporting
Goods, and the niche strategy of
the Ukrainian Credit Union. We
hope audiologists can draw direct
parallels between their own practice strategy and one of these
three strategies to adequately
address competitive strategy.
Self-Assessment Questions
1. Analyze your practice. Are you
too small to be all things to all
patients? If so, design a profitable niche in which you can
grow and create value.
2. Are you sacrificing long-term
value creation for your practice in order to provide shortterm results? What business
strategy best fits your situation and allows both shortterm economic profits and a
long-term value producing
capacity?
If you find this approach to
value creation interesting and relevant to your career goals, you
may wish to pursue more formal
business education. Value creation is also achieved through
continued education and personal development of business owners and their employees. More
information may be found at
www.hcBizEd.com.
Value Creation Feature
Ontario, the UCU was able to tailor its
product offering and communications to
specific needs. For example, the credit
union has a strong focus on access to
capital, especially for homes. Member
deposits become member loans and UCU
strongly encourages habits of savings and
investment.
Language is also an important differentiator: UCU’s Web sites have Cyrillic characters and use the Ukrainian language.
Each branch presumably has one or more
employees that are also conversant in
Ukrainian and those long-term relationships between family members and the
UCU play an important part in UCU’s
strategy.
You may or may not have Ukrainian
immigrants in your market, but you certainly have subsets of the population that
are different from others. In many markets,
for example, the Hispanic population is
growing very rapidly.Within the Hispanic
market are many differing subcultures, languages and needs. Products and services
that are specifically focused on these submarkets and meet customer needs better
than anyone else can lead to competitive
advantage.
Concentrate on a Market Niche
This strategy may be the most comfortable to many audiologists who have relied
on patient relationships, family connections and word of mouth to build practices.
It remains a viable path to a comfortable
career, but may or may not be an effective
approach to creating value and economic
profits.The more clearly specific populations are targeted and the more the needs
of these populations distinctly differ from
others, the more effective the strategy will
be long term. Low-cost providers and
superstores will continue to emerge as
competitive threats. ■
STEVE W. HENSON, Ph.D. is the Associate
Professor of Marketing at Western Carolina
University.
SUSAN J. WILLIAMSON, Au.D. is an
Audiologist, Gerontologist and Director of
Professional Relations for HealthCare Business
Education - Audiology in Flat Rock, North
Carolina.
Industry Insider ADA
Another One’s Gone
and Another One’s Gone…
Another Round of
Consolidations Appears Likely
Kevin Ruggle, Au.D.
ne day after the July 4 fireworks in the United States,
Great Nordic, the parent
company of GN ReSound,
set off its own fireworks in a company
announcement:
“The board believes that the requirement for critical mass in the hearinginstrument industry
will continue to escalate and that additional benefits may only
be available through
further industry consolidation.”
The announcement goes on to say that
GN had hired JP Morgan as an adviser to
“clarify whether it would be in GN shareholders’ best interest to allow GN
ReSound and the related operations of
O
“
Speculators have
suggested that
domestic rivals William
Demant (Oticon) and
Phonak are the two
most likely buyers.
”
GN Otometrics to operate under a different ownership; or, alternatively, if GN
ReSound could create similar value to
GN’s shareholders by continuing its current strategy based mainly on organic
growth supported by minor acquisitions
and investments in distribution and retail.
Speculators have suggested that domestic rivals William Demant (Oticon) and
Industry
Insider
Phonak are the two most likely buyers.
Soon after the announcement, both of
these companies hired advisers to look into
the possibility of purchasing GN
ReSound. Purchasers from outside the
industry have
not been ruled
out either.
William
Demant Chief
Executive Niels Jacobsen was quoted by
Reuters as saying that he believed industry
consolidation was necessary and that his
company was interested in participating.
He went on to say “I won’t say if we’ve
talked to GN about buying ReSound, but
as we’ve said before, there are too many
players in the business.”
GN hopes to either sell GN ReSound or
introduce new strategies for growth in the
second half of 2006.Analysts estimate the
sale of the GN ReSound unit could be
between 8 and 15 billion crowns, which is
in U.S.dollars is $1.37-$2.5 billion.Analysts
in Denmark suggest that the purchaser of
GN ReSound will continue with it as a
separate identity in order to protect market shares. Further, they suspect that this
consolidation could be the beginning of a
wave of consolidations and mergers within the industry.
Feedback will continue to follow this story as it develops, along with other mergers
or acquisitions that could follow this one.■
World’s Largest Hearing
Instrument Companies
1. Siemens
2. Oticon (William Demant)
3. Phonak
4. GN ReSound
21
ADA Professional Update
Professional Update
AFA Awards Over 100 Otoscopes to Au.D. Students, AFA Announces Distance
Education Scholarship Winners, ESCO Supports AFA Golf Tournament as First Sponsor,
AFA Announces School-Based Practitioner Scholarships Winners, GlaxoSmithKline
Consumer Healthcare Partners with Audiology Awareness Campaign
AFA Update
AFA Awards Over
100 Otoscopes to
Au.D. Students
More than 100 Au.D. students recently participated in
the AFA’s “Clued in to
Audiology”otoscope program,
which tested the students’
knowledge of the history of
their profession.
Students were asked to read
four articles detailing information on the history of the Au.D.
degree and audiology’s transition
to a doctoring profession.They
were then required to pass a short
quiz on the material before being
awarded an otoscope.
Nine students at A.T. Still
University/ Arizona School of
Health Sciences acted as test
subjects for this debut program.
After incorporating their comments and feedback, the program was opened to all
third-year Au.D. students in
four-year Au.D. programs.
Seventy-eight NAFDA stu22
dents participated in the program, and received their otoscopes from AFA Director/
TreasurerVeronica Heide,Au.D.,
during a special presentation during the annual NAFDA luncheon at this year’s AAA convention.At the same time, the AFA
was presented with a “Friend of
NAFDA” award in recognition
of its support of students.
In addition to NAFDA participation, 19 other Au.D. students around the country
completed the program
requirements, and
received their otoscopes individually
or at such events as
A FA - s p o n s o r e d
white coat ceremonies.
Funding for the
“Clued in to Audiology” otoscope program was provided
by the Hal-Hen division of
Widex, which supplied over
$11,000 in otoscopes in
support of the AFA and Au.D.
education.
AFA Announces Distance
Education Scholarship
Winners
Two more audiologists will
pursue Au.D. degrees via distance education programs
thanks to scholarships awarded
by the Audiology Foundation
of America (AFA).
Aaron Johnson, a practicing
audiologist with ENT Associates of Alabama, received a
$1,000 scholarship through
funding provided by Widex.
Johnson is pursuing his Au.D.
through the distance education
program at the Pennsylvania
College of Optometry, School
of Audiology
(PCO). His
current position allows
him to be
involved in
various audioAaron
Johnson
logical services,
with a special emphasis in hearing aid dispensing.
“I’m looking forward to
completing the Au.D. program
in order to broaden my knowledge and skills in audiology to
better serve the community,”
Johnson says.
In addition, Denise S.
Brantley, manager of audiology
and software technical support
services at Widex Hearing Aid
Company, received an AFA
$1,000 scholarship.She was the
winner of a drawing at the ADA
Convention in 2005. Brantley
has more than 25 years of experience in clinical, managerial
and teaching positions and will
attend the Arizona School of
Health Sciences.Brantley holds
a master’s of science degree in
audiology from Vanderbilt
University,as well as a master of
public health degree from
Columbia University.
The AFA plans to award various other Au.D. scholarships
during 2006, totaling over
$70,000.
ESCO Supports AFA
Golf Tournament as
First Sponsor
ESCO Ear Service Corp, a
hear ing-aid insurance and
Professional
Update
financing company in
Plymouth,MN,has signed on as
the first sponsor of the 2006
AFA Golf Tournament. ESCO
will sponsor the beverage cart at
the tournament.
“We at ESCO are most happy to participate again in the
AFA’s golf tournament,” says
ESCO CEO Charlie Stone,
Au.D. “ESCO has supported
the AFA for many years because
of its commitment to our profession and its vision for the
future.”
The 2006 AFA Golf Tournament will be October 13, at the
Tournament Players Club of
Scottsdale during the Academy
of Dispensing Audiologists
(ADA) annual convention in
Scottsdale, AZ. Proceeds from
the charity golf outing will fund
ongoing work by the
Audiology Foundation of
America (AFA) to support the
transition of audiology to a doctoring health care profession.
For more information about
AFA Golf Tournament sponsorship, or to sign up as a player, visit the AFA Web site at
www.audfound.org or call the
AFA office at (765) 743-6283.
AFA Announces SchoolBased Practitioner
Scholarships Winners
Five school-based practitioners have each won $1,000 in
support of their distance Au.D.
education through the
Phonak/AFA School-Based
Scholarship program. Funding
Professional Update ADA
Casey
Morehouse
Virgina
Schroeder
Karen
Mobley
Suzanne
Holowecky
for this scholarship prog ram was
provided by
Phonak, with
additional
Linda
financial supDickson
port offered by
the Audiology Foundation of
America (AFA). A total of 14
scholarships will be provided
through this program, with
additional winners to be
announced at a later date.
“School-based practitioners
play such a vital role in working
with children at risk for hearing
loss,” says AFA Director Esther
Ginsberg.“Upgrading the education of these dedicated practitioners with an Au.D.degree will
add tremendous value to the
services they provide to students,
families and the community.We
are so grateful to Cathy Jones
and Phonak for their continuing
support of this worthy project.”
Casey Morehouse has been
an educational audiologist at the
Virginia School for the Deaf &
Blind in Staunton,Va., for
almost 20 years. She also consults and provides audiological
services to 10 surrounding
school districts. She began
Au.D. classes this spring at
Central Michigan University/
Vanderbilt.
Virginia Schroeder has
been an audiologist for almost
25 years,and has been employed
by Trenton Public Schools in
Trenton, Mich., since 1999. She
is pursuing her Au.D. from the
Pennsylvania College of Optometry, School of Audiology.
Karen Mobley has been a
pediatric audiologist for 10
years and is currently employed
by the Cobb County School
System in Marietta, Ga.. She
began her Au.D. program this
spring at the Arizona School of
Health Sciences (ASHS).
Suzanne Holowecky has
been an educational audiologist for the Los Angeles Unified
School District in California
since 2001. She is pursuing an
Au.D. from ASHS.
Linda Dickson has over 25
years of experience as an audiologist, and has been employed
by Dearborn Public Schools in
Michigan since 2003. She is an
educational audiologist as well
as a referral coordinator for
hearing impaired programs in
Western Wayne County. She is
tackling the Au.D. program at
the University of Florida.
The AFA will continue to
award various scholarships
throughout the year in support
of Au.D. education. Please visit
the AFA Web site at www.audfound.org for more information on available opportunities.
GlaxoSmithKline
Consumer Healthcare
Partners with Audiology
Awareness Campaign to
Raise Awareness of
Hearing Health Care
There’s a quiet crisis in
America as more than 30 million
people deal with hearing loss and
ear health problems. To shed
some light on the issue and raise
awareness, the Audiology
Awareness Campaign (AAC) and
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare, makers of
Debrox, the No. 1 doctor and
pharmacist recommended earwax-removal product,have partnered to educate consumers who
may be slowly losing their hearing and think there’s nothing
they can do to prevent or treat it.
The AAC believes that while
millions of Americans have hearing problems caused by various
reasons including, exposure to
loud noises,aging,excessive earwax production or ear injury,
few see an audiologist to address
the issue.As many as 25 million
Americans need hearing aids but
only approximately 5 million are
using them. For more than 10
years, the AAC has worked as a
not-for-profit foundation with
the mission to educate the public about the importance of
hearing care. Made up of audiologists from around the country, the AAC strives to bring
attention to hearing loss prevention, identification and treatment. Efforts by the AAC range
from educating high school students about hearing care to giving out ear plugs at loud sporting
events like NASCAR and the
Super Bowl.
The AAC has tapped into
corporate partnerships, most
recently with GlaxoSmith
Kline Consumer Healthcare,
who have formed a partnership
to get the word out to consumers about hearing health
care by creating Caring for your
Ears and Hearing, an informational insert to be placed inside
Debrox packaging.
Kathy Landau Goodman,
Au.D., chairperson of the AAC
is leading these efforts. The
AAC has answered nearly 5000
consumer questions on their
Web site; sent out more than
15,000 educational booklets;
and distributed more than
70,000 free earplugs.
“We are delighted that GSK
Consumer Healthcare has chosen to partner with us to reach
millions of Americans who are
suffering from hearing loss or
hearing aid failure,” Dr. Landau
Goodman says.“The AAC has
been working tirelessly to educate the public about quality
hearing care through our Web
site, 800-number, and other
grassroots initiatives.This partnership with GSK Consumer
Healthcare to distribute Caring
for Your Ears and Hearing will be
a great way to extend our efforts
to reach even more people.”
“Debrox knows that more
than 14 million adults suffer
from excessive ear-wax production and that can interfere
with proper use and fitting of a
hear ing aid,” says Gustavo
Sanchez, Debrox brand manager. “Because Debrox is recommended by so many doctors
and pharmacists, we knew distributing ear-health information in our packaging would be
a great way to reach millions of
consumers with these important messages.”
Beginning in July 2006,more
than 670,000 packages of
Debrox will include the insert –
Caring forYour Ears and Hearing –
that will educate consumers on
key hearing health issues including lowering your risk for hearing loss, maintaining proper ear
hygiene and information on
where to turn for hearing health
questions and concerns.The initial distribution will include
more than 10,000 pharmacies
and retail outlets nationwide.
For more information about
the Audiology Awareness
Campaign and to learn more
about hearing and ear health,
visit www.audiologyawareness.com. ■
23
of
Future
Audiology
Au.D.
24
Au.D.s Manufacturing The Future Feature
To
the general
public, audiology is not a
well-known
profession.Few people can describe
what an audiologist does daily, and
they are unaware of the rigors of
becoming vested in the profession.
This is one reason that your membership in ADA is so important:
The organization exists to increase
the public’s awareness.
However, even within the profession,few Au.D.s may be aware of
what some designated professionals
are doing with their degrees.These
professionals think their peers have
similar jobs to their own:
• clinicians in private practices,hospitals, schools or a community
health centers;
• researchers in hospitals, universities and government agencies;
• administrators of speech and
hearing programs; and
• sales representatives for hearing
aid companies.
Many audiologists who work or
did work in the hearing-aid manufacturing realm are now expanding their credentials and increasing
the visibility of the audiologist profession - even though they are
working for manufacturers.
Recently, ADA Feedback spoke
with four audiologists who work in
manufacturing and have their
Au.D. degrees or are currently in
pursuit of the degree. These individuals relayed their experiences
and what the degree is doing for
them individually and for the profession overall.
Del Hawk, Au.D., works for Sonus
Networks. Hawk previously worked with
three different manufacturers: Oticon,
Starkey and Rexton. He received his master’s degree in 1967 and has been certified
as an audiologist and a member of the
American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association (ASHA) since that time. He
started the pursuit of his Au.D. degree in
the 1970s and completed everything but
his dissertation.At that time, the Au.D. was
relatively equivalent to a research degree.
For this reason,he continued working with
the manufacturing companies while keeping up with his education.
Sheila Douglas, an audiologist for
Unitron Hearing Canada, is pursuing her
Au.D. through distance learning. She
earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue
University in 1980 and a master’s degree
from Memphis State in 1982. Her résumé
is extensive. She began working in a fairly
isolated area of norther n Ontar io
(Timmins) where, at the time, she was the
only audiologist for about 250 miles.
Douglas has worked at two different hospitals in Ontario,and for several months for
the National Health Service in Aberdeen,
Scotland. After 23 years in clinical work
Douglas says,“I decided that I needed new
challenges and took a job as a technical
support/in-house Audiologist at Unitron
Hearing Canada.And I was correct - it was
definitely a new challenge!” She is working full time at Unitron Hearing Canada.
Rose A. Bongiovanni, Au.D., received
her bachelor’s degree in speech and hearing science from the University of Arizona
and received her master’s degree in communication disorders - audiology from
California State University at Los Angeles.
She earned the Au.D. from the Arizona
School of Health Sciences, A. T. Still
University in February, 2003. Among
Bongiovanni’s specialties is her ability to
successfully fit challenging and unusual
hearing-aid cases, lecturing to professionals and consumers, technical training and
education, and troubleshooting. Her professional experience comes from a variety
of settings: private practice, clinical, and
hearing-aid manufacturing. She works for
Widex Hearing Aid Company and MedEl
Electronics. She is “hands on” when it
comes to the practical aspects of hearing-
“
According to the U.S.
Department of Labor,
“Audiologists are
regulated in 49 States;
all require that individuals have at least a
master’s degree in
audiology. However,
a clinical doctoral
degree is expected
to become the new
standard, and several
states are currently in
the process of changing
their regulations to
require the Doctor of
Audiology (Au.D.)
degree or equivalent.”
”
aid fittings and focuses on projects that
allow the customer to better understand
Widex and its products. Bongiovanni is an
adjunct professor at the Arizona School of
Health Sciences and has written journal
articles and book chapters. She is also president-elect and conference chairperson of
the California Academy of Audiology.
A female audiologist from a hearing-aid
manufacturing firm in California. She initially worked for a physician and has since
worked in manufacturing for eight years.
In 1994, she received her master’s in
Audiology,and as recently as June 30,2006,
she has obtained her Au.D. This contact
asked to remain anonymous.
Factors that Played a Role
Del Hawk
Del Hawk explored many avenues in his
education, receiving his master’s and othContinued On Next Page
25
Feature Au.D.s Manufacturing The Future
er degrees, so he felt the next step was to
get his Au.D. degree. This degree added
credibility to his professional status.When
he would go out and talk about a product
as an Au.D., his credentials allowed him
more visibility and authority. In his role at
Sonus, Hawk frequently makes presentations to numerous audiologists - some
work in private practice, some in the medical field and some as physicians. In any
case, he felt it was beneficial to have his
doctorate. He was more confident and felt
more knowledgeable.
Now, at age 62, Hawk says, “I’m to the
point where having the Au.D. is not as
important as for someone younger, but it
is important to the profession.Age is not a
determinant.”Thus, he chose to complete
his degree for two reasons: he wanted to
finish what he started; and, it was something he needed to do for the profession.
In 2001, Dell Hawk became Dr. Dell
Hawk when he received his Au.D.
Sheila Douglas
A few years after she finished graduate
school, Douglas says,“I found myself wishing – almost – that I could do my master’s
degree again now that I had the clinical
background to understand the things that
She started working toward her degree
in 2005, as her children reached an age
where she could devote the necessary
hours to studying.“So, I took the plunge,”
says Douglas, “The largest factor in the
timing of starting classes was the age of my
children, particularly in that I am a single
mother. Most of the online chats happen
right around bedtime, so it was necessary
that my son be mature enough to get himself to bed – and to stay there.We are mostly successful with this.”
Douglas received support from her
employer and has been fortunate to get
occasional hours off from work to get her
school work done at home before her children return from school.She had peace and
quiet during this time as well as peace of
mind.
Rose Bongiovanni
Through the support and encouragement from her employer and her own
desire to see the audiology profession
advance, Rose Bongiovanni felt compelled
to pursue her Au.D. degree.
As more audiologists are obtaining their
Au.D.s,Bongiovanni recognizes the degree
is the immediate future of the profession,
a future in which she’d like to partake.“As
In 1982, just as Sheila Douglas was completing her master’s degree, custom
products were entering the market. The following is her description of the
audiology field in ‘82 as compared to 2006: The National Acoustics
Laboratories (NAL) fitting formula wouldn’t be published for another four
years and Desired Sensation Level (DSL) method would be many years
behind that. Cochlear implants were in their infancy. Cerumen Management
was not considered to be in our scope of practice. We never studied
Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE), etc, etc. In other words, things have changed
a great deal in the field since then.
I had studied and to get thorough exposure
to those things that had not been around
to study.” Her ambition was stifled by
necessity. She had two small children and
couldn’t afford to stop working to return
to school.
Douglas knew that an Au.D. was the
next big step for her profession. She welcomed the opportunity when she discovered distance education courses, but, until
recently, she never found the time to start
her pursuit.
26
our field broadens and deepens,” she
explains, “it is essential to stay current on
the var ious areas of our profession.
Becoming a student again sharpened and
refined my skills as an audiologist and a
‘cyber-tasker’.”
A Californian’s Take
The audiologist from California states,“I
was jumping on the bandwagon. I knew
there were four-year residential programs
and distance-learning offerings, and I
wanted to get it done.” Her other concern
was how soon the profession would be
going the way of the Au.D.Though many
of her co-workers were dragging their feet,
she surged ahead in the pursuit. She says
others may have been hesitant because
their employer doesn’t encourage it, as it is
not a prerequisite for the position. She did
say that one pro is that the company does
pay for a part of her education.
Previous Experience
Hawk
Working on the manufacturing side has
been a plus because it allows Hawk to have
a functional knowledge of all aspects of
hearing-impaired products and their usage.
As previously noted, Hawk has worked
for Oticon, Starkey, Rexton and, currently, he is with Sonus. Throughout his
career, Hawk reports he made strides to
increase his knowledge and was one of the
select few who had his Au.D. at his
previous workplaces. Because he left
Starkey five or six years ago, Hawk says,
“the number of people with their Au.D.has
grown; however, the number is still small
compared to the overall number of certified audiologists.”
Acquiring one’s Au.D. not only adds
credence to one’s abilities, Hawk says, but
it also enhances one’s visibility in the profession. Hawk worked while attaining his
degree. His employer encouraged his educational pursuit and allowed him a more
flexible schedule so he could simultaneously attend school and work.
As for what it did for him professionally, Hawk says,“I have seen some opportunities that I wouldn’t have before.”These
opportunities include salary changes, more
evidence to his peers and colleagues of his
abilities and a way to show value for the
profession.
Douglas
Working on the manufacturing side has
helped Douglas in her schooling. The
knowledge she possesses about hearing aids
earned her advanced standing in some
classes, which required her to take fewer
courses.
“Because I have worked in technical
support for several years, I have needed to
Au.D.s Manufacturing The Future Feature
“
I’m not sure if it’s a unique quality or a hindrance when you tell people, ‘I’m a doctor of
audiology’ and they respond, ‘What is that?’
There are so many facets to the degree that
it is sometimes hard to explain.
find a way to explain many aspects of audiology to customers calling in for help; this
has deepened my understanding of many
subjects,” she says.
On the other hand, working on the
manufacturing side means that she is less
certain of her hours as she must travel frequently.Her travels,in turn,take away from
her study time,her educational time online
and her time with her children.
“I think that a number of audiologists
working for manufacturers eventually miss
clinical work and do venture back into the
clinic,” she says,“but certainly with a significantly stronger understanding of hearing aids. Many, on the other hand, have
found their niche in the many aspects of
manufacturing.What the future holds for
me, personally, I cannot say.”
Bongiovanni
According to Bongiovanni, all of her
audiological experience helped when she
pursued her degree.
Bongiovanni notes,“It is not so much a
transition but rather a progression [working in the manufacturing world while getting her Au.D].I am very fortunate that my
company and my family were very supportive while I pursued my Au.D. I was
able to balance family, work and school. It
made me a better planner!”
California
The audiologist from California concurred that her experience in the manufacturing realm helped. It was beneficial in
that she did not have to take additional
hearing-aid courses. Additional courses
such as business and vestibular classes were
necessary for her to attain an Au.D. Other
necessary courses include:
• auditory and vestibular anatomy and
neuroanatomy;
• pediatric and geriatric audiology;
• deaf education;
• medical and surgical treatment of hear-
”
ing and balance disorders;
cochlear implants;
genetics;
pharmacology;
radiology;
forensic audiology;
communication, remediation, rehabilitation of hearing and vestibular disorders;
• business and practice development; marketing; and
• industrial and recreational audiology.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Au.D. Is Unique
These professionals have their own
thoughts about what makes the Au.D.
degree unique - but they all agree that the
designation is far removed from public perception. Hawk says,
“People don’t know
what it is.”When he
describes the degree
to others,he tries to
be very specific in
delineating it from
other degrees.He is
careful to explain its
exact purpose and
what it means to
the profession.
B o n g i ova n n i
replies, “Unique? I
think it is the people who pursue the
deg ree [make it
unique]. Never will
you find a more
committed group
of professionals in
search of the perfect answer to their
patients’ challenges.
You can never
teach us enough
and we will never
learn enough!”
The California
audiologist replies,
“I’m not sure if it’s a unique quality or a
hindrance when you tell people, ‘I’m a
doctor of audiology’ and they respond,
‘What is that?’There are so many facets to
the degree that it is sometimes hard to
explain.”
She comments that Au.D.s are half audiologists and half psychologists. They recognize that two people can be having
similar hearing problems, be in the same
hearing program and have two different
personalities. She says part of the role of an
audiologist is helping someone to adjust to
the hearing aids and to make sure that, as
an audiologist, you understand the product
and how it works for an individual’s needs.
Future of Audiology
Hawk envisions an audiologist mirroring
the characteristics of a regular doctor specializing in one field, like hearing aids
or vestibular testing. He also recognizes
that certifications will be more prevalent audiologists will become board certified in
27
Feature Au.D.s Manufacturing The Future
“
The California
audiologist remarks
that audiologists need
better training with
hearing aids beyond
the four-year education
programs. She clarifies
that, “80 percent of
audiologists go into
hearing-aid manufacturing and sales, and of
that number, not many
know what they are
actually doing.
”
vestibular testing or pediatric testing. In
sum, he’d like to see the Au.D. model be
board certified and have extra expertise
just like the current medical model.
Douglas says, “I would like to see
Audiologists receive the same recognition
as, say, Optometrists, and I think the Au.D.
will help. I am tired of explaining, that, no,
I don’t fix stereos!”
Bong iovanni sees a br ight,
promising future for audiologists
- one that allows a nice living
and rewards beyond what
money can give. She says, “I
am still in the manufacturing
world and plan to stay here!”
The knowledge she has
gained helps her to be more
effective with her customers
in the medical world.
The California audiologist
remarks that audiologists
need better training with
28
hearing aids beyond the four-year education programs. She clarifies that, “80 percent of audiologists go into hearing-aid
manufacturing and sales, and of that number, not many know what they are actually doing. They only receive a basic
education and they need to be better
trained.”
She doesn’t really see it going into the
medical world; however, several people go
into pharmaceutical sales and back to audiology as manufacturers. It gives them a
strong background in terms of knowing
the products and their functions.
Overall Importance
“The public has to know and understand
what an Au.D. means. The Au.D. is extra
education that is good for the profession,”
Hawk says. His peers agree that the designation is good for the profession - but they
also feel it’s important in different ways.
Douglas doesn’t have her degree - yet. She
clarifies, “I am earning my degree.” Her
intention in working toward her Au.D. is
not for a simple upgrade; rather, she is
looking to gain an associated skill or
knowledge. She is careful to explain the
seriousness of her degree to others. In talking to others, she tells them, “I am doing
the coursework through distance education rather than referring to it an as ‘online
degree’.”
Douglas desires the same future for the
profession of audiology as Hawk. She says,
“I am spending the not-inconsiderable
time and effort on this degree for a variety of reasons. I want the knowledge. I
want the challenge. I want the profession
to move forward.”
Bongiovanni agrees:“It [the Au.D.
degree] is an integral part of our profession and will only become more
essential in the future.”
The California audiologist sees it as a good form
of status and job credentialing. She contends,
“Some people won’t even
look at you for jobs if you
don’t have the credentials
to back you up. It would
be better if audiologists
with their Au.D.s are
looked at as doctors.” ■
Prospective Au.D. Students
http://www.audiologist.org/
students/prospective.cfm
Individuals considering
careers in audiology need to be
aware that the scope of practice
has grown considerably over
the past 50 years, and as a
result, the requirements for academic and clinical training have
also expanded. The Au.D. is the
designator for the professional
doctorate, a degree which will
replace the master’s degree as
the standard entry level for the
profession of Audiology. The
transitioning period will be completed by 2012, at which time
the Au.D. will be required to
enter the practice of audiology.
ABOUT THE Au.D. DEGREE
• The Au.D. is the designator for
the professional doctorate in the
discipline of Audiology and
requires a four-year post-baccalaureate program. The fourth
year of training includes externship experiences and additional
training opportunities.
• Specific prerequisite coursework varies somewhat by institution. Prospective Au.D. candidates are advised to check with
each institution to learn about
requirements or prerequisites
prior to applying.
In addition to a degree, most
states have licensure requirements in order to legally practice. Individuals completing an
Au.D. program should contact
the Department of Health in
their state to learn about the
licensure requirement and any
continuing education requirements to maintain the license.
News ADA
Randy Morgan, CEO and
President of Westone,
Dies June 6, 2006
DISCOVERY
WARRANTIES
RANDY MORGAN,CEO of Westone,battled a very aggressive form
of brain cancer for several months. He died peacefully at his ranch
outside of Woodland Park, Colorado June 6,
2006, surrounded by his wife, Nannette, and
several of his close friends and relatives.He was
53 years old.
Randy stood at the helm of Westone as
president and CEO since the 1980s.His vision
and leadership helped propel Westone from a
small ear-mold lab to one of the most recognized and respected firms in the hearing
health-care industry.Lynn Kehler,president of Westone,states,“The
Westone of today is a thriving memorial to Randy’s unwavering
commitment to a core set of values.We will all dearly miss his wit
and fearless approach to life.”
Over the last several years,Randy began implementing a businesssuccession plan involving a number of Westone’s long-term employees. Kehler says, “We are both fortunate and proud to perpetuate
Randy’s life work and legacy at Westone by continuing to serve our
valued customers in the spirit in which he would have wanted.”■
LOOK FOR ARTICLES IN
THE NEXT FEEDBACK
The BIG Vote: Does ADA become the
ACADEMY OF DOCTORS OF AUDIOLOGY?
Convention Wrap Up
Interviews with the New
ADA Board Members
Industry Consolidation Update
Good
For Clients
Good
For Business
800.525.7936
www.discovear.com
4318 Downtowner Loop N.
Suite K • Mobile, AL 36609
29
Feature Convention Preview: Interview
Don’t Try
to Stop Me!
Q & A with Cynthia Kersey,
president of Unstoppable
Enterprises, Inc., to Offer
ADA Members Inspiration
30
Convention Preview: Interview Feature
Cynthia Kersey wants to make
you unstoppable.
Since publishing in 1998 the best-selling
book, Unstoppable, Kersey has focused on
jumpstarting professionals into action.
If you attend the October 11-14, 2006,
ADA Conference in Scottsdale,Ariz.,you’ll
get to experience firsthand just how powerful Kersey’s philosophy can be.
Kersey has appeared on 100’s of radio
and television shows including The Oprah
Winfrey Show and is a popular radio personality featuring her weekly Unstoppable
Moments in markets across the United
States and Canada. Recently, Feedback
spoke with Kersey and asked about her
speech and how it will apply to audiologists and their profession.
Feedback:What is the Unstoppable 30Day Challenge?
The Unstoppable 30-Day Challenge helps
create a life of unstoppable success - a life of
passion and purpose. The program combines inspirational stories,insights and anecdotes with an effective 30-Day Challenge –
designed to move people into action to
achieve a breakthrough goal in just 30 days
and inspire them along the way.
Feedback:Why the Unstoppable 30Day Challenge?
After coaching thousands of people,
Kersey found that most people struggle to
break a goal down into simple steps, and
then find the motivation to get themselves
to consistently take action.As a result, people commonly get overwhelmed and discouraged if they don’t see immediate results
and commonly give up, reverting to their
old patterns of behavior.This undermines
their self-confidence and makes it harder to
make a change in the future.
Kersey says this program is something
anyone can fit into their busy life,from corporate executives to stay-at-home moms
with great success.
Feedback:What does it take to become
UNSTOPPABLE?
“An unstoppable person finds the courage
to make a change in their life that may or
may not remotely resemble their present
circumstances,” Kersey says.
“Regardless of their current situation,
they don’t allow fear,self doubt,or someone
else stop them and consistently take one
step forward, refusing to give up, until they
achieve their goal. Each forward step is an
unstoppable moment. To become an
unstoppable, you simply create a series of
these unstoppable moments.
their family, pursue their love of painting,
or get back to the gym, the Unstoppable 30Day Challenge can help them achieve
their goal.”
Feedback: How will audiologists
benefit from your programs?
Customized Programs
“I customize my programs to ensure my
presentation is relevant.”
• Eating a grapefruit when you’d rather
have a Twinkie
Organization Research
Kersey says that she incorporates original research into her programs. “I will
interview key ADA leaders to gain an
understanding of the membership’s unique
business environment,” she says. “This
allows me to identify common challenges
they may face on a daily basis.”
• Walking 30 minutes in the evening
instead of sitting down and collapsing
in front of the television
Feedback:What Will Audiologists
Learn?
Kersey offers these examples of
unstoppable moments:
• Getting up earlier to plan your day
instead of hitting the snooze button for
the fourth time
• Spending 30 minutes of uninterrupted time reading to your children
Feedback:What makes this program
different than other books on the
market?
“The biggest problem with most ‘selfhelp’ programs is that they require people
to make drastic changes from day one.
Research indicates that when people are
asked to make big sweeping changes in
their lives all at once, they get overwhelmed, become discouraged and commonly give up, reverting to their old
patterns of behavior,” Kersey says. “This
undermines their self-confidence and
makes it harder to make a change in the
future. The most effective way to create
lasting change is to do it one step at a time,
letting that success lead to others.”
Feedback:Will this work for everyone?
“No matter what age, occupation or
current circumstances the reader might
have, this program can be easily tailored to
help any person make a change in their life,
whether big or small,” Kersey says.
“Whether they want to lose weight,
improve their career,spend more time with
Kersey has many goals for her presentation. She wants attendees to leave with
some great knowledge: how to choose a
goal that will have an extraordinary impact
on your life; how to break that goal into a
daily plan requiring only one small step at
a time; the secrets behind the unstoppable
mindset that has brought positive change
in hundreds of thousands of lives across
the world; how to replace prohibitive
beliefs and behaviors with positive
thoughts and habits; and how to create a
support structure that will virtually guarantee your success.
“Everyone wants to make some change
in their life,” Kersey says.“Maybe it’s a little change, maybe a big one. Maybe they’d
like to develop a healthier lifestyle, go back
to school, or pursue their love of painting,
but they just can’t get themselves to take
action? Maybe they’ve identified a goal
such as starting a business, running a
marathon, or creating an investment strategy, but they have no idea where to begin.
Or maybe they’d be thrilled to find an
extra hour a day to spend quality time
with their children.”
Whatever the goal, the Unstoppable
30-Day Challenge will help them
achieve it!
31
Feature Convention Preview: Agenda
Pre-Conference Workshops
Concurrent Sessions
Note: Separate registration fee is required.
Concurrent Sessions are listed this year by blocks to
organize session topics into four main categories. The blocks
are as follows:
• Biomedical/Diagnostic Treatment
• Practice Development & Management
• Rehabilitation
• Professional/Legal/Ethical Issues
Hands-On Neuroanatomy Workshop
Dr. Tabitha Parent Buck, Au.D., Arizona School of Health Sciences
This six-hour pre-conference workshop will be offered at the
Arizona School of Health Sciences on the A.T. Still University
Mesa campus. Transportation to and from the convention
hotel will be provided. Attendees will progress through
numerous hands-on stations, viewing skulls, temporal bone
sections, brain models, whole and sliced brain specimens
and spinal cord specimens. Au.D. faculty and on-campus
students will guide each group in viewing anatomical
structures and pathways pertinent to understanding the
central and peripheral nervous systems and, particularly, the
audiovestibular system.
Being A Clinical Preceptor: The Whys and Hows
Linda Seestedt-Stanford, Ph.D., Assistant Dean, The Herbert H.
And Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions, Central Michigan
University; Sharon A. Sandridge, Ph.D., Director, Clinical Services,
Co-Director, Tinnitus Management Clinic and Audiology Research
Lab, Head and Neck Institute; Lori M. Bordenave, Med, PT,
Arizona School of Health Sciences, a School of A.T. Still University;
Moderated by George S. Osborne, Ph.D., D.D.S., Dean, PCO
School of Audiology
This 4-hour pre-conference workshop will provide a
background overview of models of preceptor training used by
other healthcare professions and the essence of preceptor
training that is needed in audiology. Attendees will be engaged
in looking at their own learning styles and adult learning
theories to understand how learning styles affect the studentpreceptor relationship and the student’s learning experience.
Presentations and interactive activities will also cover ways to
give feedback for formative and summative evaluations of the
students throughout their clinical rotations, how to get started
with a new student and setting goals. On-line strategies for
both students and preceptors to communicate with universities,
tracking of clinical procedures, and accreditation issues
regarding preceptors will also be presented.
This pre-conference workshop is designed for practitioners who
are already hosting audiology students and are interested in
improving their skills as preceptors. In addition, practitioners
who are interested in becoming preceptors for students will
learn more about the process and the skills needed. Academic
faculty involved in teaching and placing audiology students in
clinical sites may also find the discussion and the skill-building
exercises beneficial for working with preceptors.
Cerumen Management Workshop
This educational and interactive workshop will allow
participants to review the basic ear canal anatomy, physiology
and pathologies, as well as the production and properties
of cerumen. Participants will learn about the available
instrumentation and proper techniques for cerumen removal.
Participants will engage in practical experience with the various
methods of cerumen management. Related professional issues
such as liability, licensure and reimbursement will be covered.
Below is a sample of sessions that will be available under
each of these four blocks. Please note that sessions are subject
to change.
Biomedical/Diagnostic Treatment Block
ATA’s Professional Course on Tinnitus Treatment
and Management Strategies
Dhyan Cassie, Au.D., Clinician Coordinator, Tinnitus Management
Clinic, Speech & Hearing Associates
The American Tinnitus Association (ATA) has developed a
presentation for the healthcare professional for the purpose of
providing a background of information regarding tinnitus
causes and treatments. The presentation is an overview of
theories, facts and recent findings regarding tinnitus. As other
sciences discover more about the brain and its neural
connections and inter-connections, the information is used to
theorize over the relationship between tinnitus and the brain,
and how this information can then be used to find causes for
the severity of tinnitus and treatment for its alleviation. The
information is presented clearly and provides clinicians with a
resource to help their patients.
APD: New Perspectives on Diagnosis, Treatment
and Auditory Training Using Fast ForWord
Maxine Young, M.A., Audiology Central Hearing and Speech Services
Audiologists are experiencing an increase in the number of
children and adults referred for suspected APD. Research has
reached the clinical level and provides us with a better
understanding of the CANS and, more importantly, effective
neuroplastic treatment approaches for APD. Audiologists
now have several treatments that can be implemented by
audiologists. One of these is a neuroscientific-based training,
Fast ForWord, which can markedly improve APD in normal
hearing and hearing impaired individuals, including children
with CIs. This presentation will cover: A review of new research
on how the CANS processes spoken language; innovative
approaches to testing for APD and their use in a private
practice; selection of the APD test battery; how APD affects
HA fittings; the use of treatment/training options successfully
implemented within a private practice setting; and the business
side of APD. Fast ForWord demonstration will be available.
Severe to Profound Congenital Sensorineural
Hearing Loss and Three Genetic Conditions
that Need to be Ruled Out
Dr. Tabitha Parent Buck, Au.D., Arizona School of Health Sciences
This presentation will cover three genetic conditions
associated with severe to profound congenital sensorineural
hearing loss. The disease characteristics, diagnosis, genetic
findings, prevalence and management of Usher Syndrome,
Pendred Syndrome and Jervell and Lange-Nielsen Syndrome
will be discussed, while the importance of assessment of
auditory and vestibular function will be emphasized.
32
Convention Preview: Agenda Feature
Is Central Presbycusis CAPD?
Martin Lenhardt, Au.D., Ph.D., Professor, Virginia Commonwealth
University and A.T. Still University
Older Americans with central hearing problems appear to share
much of the same symptomology of children with CAPD.
Children differ from adults in that their neurological systems
are developing. Older listeners’ nervous systems are mature, but
compromised by varying degrees of bioaging. Sensorineural
interactions, task complexity demands and cognitive adaptations
all are factors in defining presbycusis and its severity.
Characteristics of central presbycusis will be presented along
with treatment strategies for successful auditory aging.
Current Trends in OAE Testing: Their Use in a
Dispensing Practice
Lee VanMiddlesworth, Director – US Operations, Otodynamics Ltd.
This course will provide a general review of OAE testing
combined with new techniques such as Optimized Growth
Function tests for use in programming HI and managing
patients. Attendees will gain a better overall knowledge of
OAEs and their value in clinical audiology, as well as
encouraging a stronger evaluation provide of the patient’s
hearing problems. Practical guidelines will be shared for
selecting equipment, protocols, and training regimens for
developing a successful program.
The ABCs of Infants: From Newborn Hearing
Screening to Early Intervention
Les Schmeltz, Au.D., A.T. Still University, Arizona School of
Health Sciences
This presentation will address the specific needs of infants and
their families from the first newborn hearing screening through
enrollment in early intervention programs. Numerous surveys have
pointed out the need for properly prepared pediatric audiologists
to provide the necessary diagnostic and habilitative services in
a timely and responsible manner. The goal of this presentation
is to provide interested audiologists with the information
necessary to become an active participant in the challenging
(and extremely rewarding) arena of early hearing detection.
Practice Development & Management Block
The Impact of Office Layouts; Floor Plans
for Productivity
Peter Marzolf, Vice President, American Hearing Aid Associates
This session will help you understand basic layouts for your
office. You will study the effective use of rooms according to
the type of use, such as the front office and exam areas. We will
also examine how you best maximize your patient flow by
studying productivity with analysis tools that look at schedules,
square footage and employees. The session offers you a “nutsand-bolts” approach to setting up your office to maximize both
the number of patients you can see and your profit margin.
We CAN Get Consumers to Choose Audiology
Care! (and Grow Our Practices, Too!)
David Smriga, M.A., President, AuDNet, Inc.; John M. Zeigler, Au.D.,
Vice President of Marketing, AuDNet, Inc.
For decades, audiologists have expressed concern about their
lack of professional identity with American consumers.
Motivating consumers to demand an audiologist’s care requires
audiologists to change their communication behavior. The
proven principals of brand building can be used by audiology
practices to establish strong links between consumers and the
audiology profession. This course will show you how you can
effectively leverage your community leadership, marketing
message and audiology training to create demand for all facets
of audiology care.
Creating a Professional Environment for Success
Richard Poage, M.A., Thriving Audiology
You wouldn’t think of going outside without considering the
impact of temperature and gravity. Even if we cannot see them,
we know they are critical physical environmental factors. In the
business world there are also environmental factors that are
just as real and important to our business success and comfort
as gravity and temperature are to our physical success and
comfort. In this session, attendees will be introduced to the
success pyramid, and business environmental factors critical to
professional success will be revealed.
Building a Ramp Out of RAM: Using the Internet to
Improve Communication Access with your Patients
Brad Ingrao, Ph.D., Director of Professional Relations, Audiology Online
In recent years, the “average” audiology patient has changed
from a relatively inactive retiree to a “Baby Boomer” still very
active in the “Rat Race.” Using e-mail, Instant Messages, SMS
and RSS, these “super user” patients are overcoming the
hearing loss-related limitations of the telephone. This
presentation will describe how these and other Internet-based
solutions provide improved communication access and
documentation while elevating your practice to the status of
“Extreme Geek” in the eyes, minds and pocket books of the
next generation of hearing technology users.
Roundtable: The Joy of Private Practice
Deborah Price, Au.D., Hearing Professional Center; Veronica Heide,
Au.D., Audible Difference; Jason Aird, Au.D., Iowa Audiology and
Hearing Aid Centers
This roundtable will walk attendees through the process of
owning and operating a private audiology practice. Topics to be
covered will include evaluating the market, creating a business
plan, financing options, partnership opportunities, calculating
expenses and income as well as the day-to-day challenges of
running a practice.
Rehabilitation Block
Using Scan/Print Technologies to Enhance CIC
Fitting Success
Roy F. Sullivan, Ph.D., Sullivan & Sullivan, Inc.
Less than 15% of all United States hearing aids dispensed are
CICs. CIC fitting issues include discomfort, extrusion and
feedback, which motivates dispensing audiologists to order
larger instruments. Laser impression scan/stereolithographic
(scan/print) custom shell production can improve CIC fitting
success. Scan/print technology is contrasted with the
traditional (invest/pour) process. Dispensing implications of a
double blind study on 68 ears fitted with CIC aids on 43 older,
CIC-experienced patients will be presented. Pros and cons of
in-office scanning, shell design, virtual shell modification
techniques and remake without aid (RMA) will be demonstrated,
including case studies.
33
Feature Convention Preview: Agenda
Maximizing Patient Satisfaction Using an
Evidence-Based Approach
Brian Taylor, Au.D., Director of Professional Development,
Amplifon USA
All audiologists who manage or own a business strive to be
profitable while simultaneously delivering high quality patient
care. One of the challenges for the practice owner or manager
is balancing the needs of the business with the needs of the
patient. This course, using an evidence-based approach, will
review some of the key drivers of patient satisfaction, as well
as how the audiologist in private practice can both better
measure and manage the entire patient experience while
maintaining profitability.
ELVAS Lives! What is the Future of Hearing Aids?
Paul Dybala, Ph.D., President, Audiology Online
What is the future of hearing aids? This is a tricky question, but
a vision of the future given during this interactive presentation
may not be as far off as you think! Ear Level Voice Activated
Systems (ELVAS) will change the future of hearing aids, and
participants will take a look at some new devices that may
change their thinking about what the hearing aids of the future
may look like.
Roundtable: Open Fittings
The following audiologists will be facilitating the Open
Fittings Roundtable:
Natan Bauman, Ed.D., M.S. Eng., Hearing, Balance and Speech Center
Dr. Natan Bauman is an authority in hearing healthcare,
including hearing aid assessment and design, vestibular
diagnosis and treatment as well as tinnitus and hyperacusis
management. Currently, he is the founder and director of The
Hearing Balance and Speech Center and The New England
Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Clinic. Prior to this position, he was
the director of the Hearing, Speech and Language Clinic at Yale
New Haven Hospital, where he also served as Assistant Clinical
Professor at the Yale School of Medicine. He is the inventor
of the Vivatone Hearing Aid, with Totally Open Canal™
Technology, and various other tinnitus retraining instruments.
Dr. Bauman holds numerous patents for hearing devices and is
in top demand for speaking on issues pertaining to audiology.
Victor Bray, Ph.D., Vice President, Sonic Innovations, Inc.
Dr. Victor Bray is the Vice President & Chief Audiology
Officer at Sonic Innovations. He has degrees in Biochemistry,
Audiology and Speech & Hearing Science. Since 1993, he has
been a research audiologist for the industry, specializing in
new product development and product testing methodologies.
He lectures internationally on the application of advanced
technologies to improve hearing aid performance and increase
customer satisfaction. He has authored numerous technical
articles, two book chapters on hearing aids and has spoken
several times at ADA. His most recent publication is “Clinical
Study of a New Directional System: Initial Behavioral Results”
in The Hearing Review, September 2005.
David Fabry, Ph.D., Phonak Hearing Systems
Dr. David Fabry is Vice President of Professional Relations for
Phonak Hearing Systems in Warrenville, Illinois, where he has
worked since 2002. Prior to that time, he was at Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, Minnesota from 1990-2002 and served as Director
of Audiology from 1994-2002. He served on the Board of the
American Academy of Audiology from 1997-2003 and served
as President of the Academy in 2001. He is a past Editor of
AJA and was an Associate Editor of Ear and Hearing. He is
currently the Publications Committee Chair for AAA.
34
Laurel Olson, M.A., Manager of Clinical Product Research, Starkey
Laboratories, Inc.
Laurel Olson, M.A., currently holds the position of Manager
of Clinical Product Research at Starkey Laboratories, in Eden
Prairie, Minnesota. She has worked in industry research for 12
years. Prior to this, she dispensed hearing aids for seven years at a
private practice in Phoenix, Arizona. She obtained her graduate
degree in audiology from Northern Illinois University in 1987,
and has provided over 20 papers at various conferences including
AAA, ADA, IHCON, AAS and various state meetings.
Justyn Pisa, Au.D., Research Audiologist, Starkey Laboratories, Inc.
Justyn Pisa’s professional background includes work as a
dispensing audiologist as well as performing balance assessment
and rehabilitation in private practice. Justyn obtained an Au.D. in
2005 from the PCO School of Audiology and joined Starkey Labs,
Inc. in the Clinical Product Research Group within the same year,
and has been directly involved in the research and development
of the Destiny product line and Inspire OS fitting software.
Justyn’s previous speaking experience includes presentations on
verification of directional microphone systems and efficacy of
open ear fittings at the 2006 AAA convention in Minneapolis.
What is Linear Frequency Transposition?
Francis Kuk, Ph.D., Widex Hearing Aid Company USA
This course provides a brief history behind the use of frequency
compression/transposition technology in achieving audibility of
sounds that are not aidable (either due to limited gain or
“dead” regions). The rationale and mechanism behind a new
frequency transposition approached used in the Inteo hearing
aid, along with the method to verify the fitting, will be
described. Efficacy of the algorithm will be described, along
with the target populations that this technology may serve.
Patient Counseling: Retention, Questioning &
Social Style
Jerry Yanz, Ph.D., Senior Trainer, Starkey Laboratories, Inc.
Successful hearing rehabilitation depends on sound audiologic
recommendations and good patient follow-through. This
interactive session addresses three factors important to
counseling efficacy and the resulting rehabilitative success:
(1) patient retention of information conveyed in counseling
sessions; (2) patient-focused questions; and (3) the effect of
social style on the meaningful connection between practitioner
and patient. Participants will conduct their own social style
inventory and master new questioning and retention
techniques to improve patient counseling and improve
rehabilitative outcomes.
Hearing Aids for the Elderly: Consider their Brains
Before you Treat their Ears
Lynn Sirow, Ph.D., Port Washington Hearing Center
This presentation will cover the changes in the brain physiology
of the elderly including weight loss, proteins, change in shape
and how all of these changes are responsible for changes in
behavior that affect the process of the reception of auditory
information. You will understand how changes also affect
intelligence, psychological and social well-being and the
auditory process, to mention a few. Learn how the intellectual
ability of the elderly should be matched to the complexity of
the hearing instrument used. The motivation of the elderly
should also be matched to the amplification recommended, and
the auditory processing deficiencies of the elderly should be
considered in the processing strategies used in the amplification.
Convention Preview: Agenda Feature
Professional/Legal/Ethical Issues Block
Extended Warranties! Are They Making You
Money, or Putting You at Risk?
Relevant Issues of Law and Ethics for the Hearing
Healthcare Provider
Charlie Stone, Au.D., CEO, ESCO Ear Service Corporation;
Kathleen Kuntz, Director of Product Development, ESCO Ear
Service Corporation
Douglas Lewis, J.D., Ph.D., MBA, Attorney/Audiologist/Healthcare
Consultant, Norvell Hearing Services
In today’s competitive marketplace, bundling extended
warranties and professional services for as many as three years
has become a common practice. Many practitioners are
including these warranties into the sale of a hearing instrument
without being fully aware of the state regulations that govern
warranty and service contracts. Understanding these regulations
and making every ethical consideration surrounding warranties
is key to developing a protocol to be both compliant and
profitable. This discussion will examine the legal and ethical
issues surrounding extended warranties, as well as offer
solutions for your practice.
Attendees will acquire a basic understanding of defining ethics
and the similarities/differences between ethical and legal
principles as well as applying ethical principles and thought
processes to current business practices through discussion of
examples and various “Codes of Ethics.” This session will also
provide a basic understanding of the following areas of Law: Tort
law, including elements of negligence and misrepresentation;
contract law, including required contract elements, language, and
types of contracts with non-compete clauses and other restrictive
covenants or basic remedies at law; and employment law,
including parameters and agency theory. There will be a brief
discussion of relevant law, including fraud and abuse, Stark and
Antikickback Laws, Sarbanes-Oxley and Corporate Compliance.
Audiology and the Crystal Ball 2006:
You Make the Call!
This session will focus on the emerging trends in technology,
service and delivery, politics and the hearing aid industry over
the next five years. Rather than focus on the opinion of one or
two “talking heads,” this session will use interactive electronic
polling to guide the presentation based on the audience’s input.
As a result, discussion will center on the topics and predictions
of interest to those in attendance. Topics included will be
Internet and over-the-counter devices, telemedicine, “open” fit
hearing aids, political/professional priorities, wireless advances
and hair cell regeneration. Audience participation is encouraged.
Roundtable: Face-to-Face: OTC Hearing Aid Debate
David Fabry is Vice President of Professional Relations for
Phonak Hearing Systems in Warrenville, Illinois, where he has
worked since 2002. Prior to that time, he was at Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, Minnesota from 1990-2002, and served as Director
of Audiology from 1994-2002. He served on the Board of the
American Academy of Audiology from 1997-2003, and served
as President of AAA in 2001. He is a past Editor of AJA, and
was an Associate Editor of Ear and Hearing. He is currently the
Publications Committee Chair for AAA.
How ACAE Can Help the Profession and How
ADA Can Help ACAE
Ian M. Windmill, Ph.D., Chair, ACAE; Doris Gordon, M.S., M.P.H.,
Executive Director, ACAE
Dr. Windmill and Ms. Gordon will communicate the vision for
the ACAE and how it will have a strong, positive influence on
the profession of audiology for the next thirty years. They will
present the current status of the innovative and unique web-based
system and significant benefits it will have for the audiologists of
tomorrow. At the same time, they will advise the ADA about how
members can exert influence and assistance to the ACAE and the
profession as the process is implemented. Helpful steps about how
this can be accomplished will be provided as well as how ADA
members can help shape audiology education for the next 30 years.
Roundtable: Audiology Licensure Update
Kenneth Lowder, Au.D.; Darrell Micken, Au.D.; Michael Thelen, Au.D.;
and Thomas Morris, Au.D., Audiology Foundation of America
State licensing is at the core of the effort to transition audiology
to a doctoring profession. To ensure success, the Au.D. must be
incorporated in each state’s licensure, and the scope of practice
must be defined legally and uniformly. A uniform model statute
that contains these necessary policy features will advance the
cause and give guidance to those states working to make
changes. This session will feature a discussion of the many
issues tied to state licensure regulations, including student
licensure, billing and reimbursement and Medicare’s ruling on
student supervision. Cumulative licensure information on each
state will also be available.
Dennis Van Vliet, Au.D., Vice President, HEARx
Staff Workshop
Dennis Van Vliet has a Bachelor of Science degree from UC
Irvine; a Master of Arts degree from Cal State University,
Fullerton; and a Doctor of Audiology degree from Central
Michigan University. He has worked as an audiologist in medical,
educational and private practice settings. His professional
activities have included formation of the Independent Hearing
Aid Fitting Forum, which is a volunteer study group that
developed a comprehensive hearing aid fitting protocol for
nonlinear hearing aids. He has been invited as a speaker in the
U.S., Canada and Germany to present information on a variety
of hearing aid technology topics and other professional issues.
His opinions are expressed monthly in the “Final Word” feature
of the Hearing Journal.
Friday, October 13, 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. &
Saturday, October 14, 8:30 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Enhance your practice, and invite your staff to attend the Staff
Workshop at the 2006 ADA Convention. Designed specifically
for audiology practice staff, the workshop will provide
practical and useful knowledge that can make an immediate,
positive contribution to your practice. Your staff will have the
opportunity to network while covering valuable topics such as:
New “Smart Tools” for Office Staff; Counter Sales — How,
Why, When and to Whom; and Office Programs and Recall
Techniques for Seniors. Don’t let this exciting opportunity for
your staff and practice get away — register today!
* Note: Separate registration fee required. Registration fee includes
entrance to Exhibit Hall on Friday, October 13, all sessions of Staff
Workshop, and admittance to the President’s Reception & Banquet
on Saturday, October 14. Staff Workshop materials will be available
for pick-up starting Friday, October 13.
35
ADA Book Review
Gail Sprecher, Au.D.
Book Review:
Children with Hearing Loss:
A Family Guide
Edited by David Luterman, D.Ed. Published by Auricle Ink Publishers, $16.95
our authors collaborated to write
the book Children with Hearing
Loss: A Family Guide. The book
consists of five chapters that detail
the anticipated course of events that follow
the diagnosis of a child with hearing loss.
The book succeeds in providing functional information for families about procedures
to take following the initial diagnosis.
However,the authors’occasional stereotypical assertions force the book to occasionally fall short.
The book is presented chronologically:It
starts with an explanation of what options
families of children with hearing loss have
after the audiological evaluation; hearing
aids, types of hearing aids (technology) and
cochlear implants.The authors relate what
affected families need to know about the
impact of hearing loss on the speech signal;
environmental factors that can further compromise the auditory signal;and information
on improving the speech signal within a
classroom.
Children with Hearing Loss:A Family Guide
also addresses the educational system with
definitions,charts and appendices to support
parents through the educational meetings
and procedures.
The first two chapters acknowledge the
emotions a family may experience upon
receiving the diagnosis of a child with hearing loss and how those emotions may manifest within the family unit.These chapters
expand beyond the stages of grief and provide an insightful awareness of emotional
transfers, interpretations of the grief and
energy consumed by the focus on the hearing loss. Rarely does a book specifically
address the emotions of the siblings and
grandparents; however, these authors recognize the necessity to speak to the extended family too.
The last three chapters cover an enormous amount of information on diagnosis
Book
Reviews
F
36
• the deaf child of deaf parents who choose
not to implant their children;
• the multiply handicapped; and,
• the disadvantaged child with a
hearing loss.”
in a concise and well-written manner explanation of the audiogram, types of
amplification, the listening environments
and the educational process. The authors
do an admirable job expanding on and providing multiple,comprehensible,visual illustrations to support the information and the
implications of hearing loss beyond the
audiogram, professional jargon and educational procedure maze.There are both visual references and Web site referrals for
auditory demonstrations.
Given the title of the book,I expected an
impartial resource to educate and empower families to make informed decisions
regarding their children with hearing loss.
I was disappointed to find the editor’s biases toward the deaf, visual language and any
professional providing those resources in
the following negatively charged introductory comments:
“It is rapidly becoming feasible that deafness in a child will, in most cases be a function of the choice of the parents or of poor
clinical management.”
“Schools for children with hearing loss
are becoming increasingly repositories for-
“Until we get the mainstreaming model
fully operational we will go through periodic cycles whereby the deaf community
and the romance of sign language are rediscovered by adolescents with hearing loss.”
“We professionals have seen us move from
bleak prognosis to hopeful outcomes, from
restricted vocational opportunities to almost
unlimited ones,from poor academic skills to
grade-appropriate, and from unintelligible
speech to normal or near-normal speech
intelligibility.”
This introduction, in turn, does not
acknowledge the number of intelligent,
articulate, highly educated individuals in a
variety of professions who are deaf and
communicate fluently in American Sign
Language to contradict these stereotypes.
The anecdotal experiences of the author in
the first chapters were at times distracting
from the information being presented. For
instance, the following comparison is particularly insensitive, especially to anyone
who may have experienced the death of a
child:
“In the past, I’ve compared the parental
loss to a death, but I have begun to see that
this is no longer accurate. In a death, there’s
finality to the grief, there’s a burial and life
can go on, albeit with pain and loss.With
hearing loss, the grief is chronic, lived with
24/7.The child is a constant reminder to the
parents of this loss.”
It is disheartening to find with all the
Continued On Page 38
your clients make the right choice!
HeLPS, the Hearing Loss and Prosthesis Simulator, is an easy-to-use,
powerful new tool that will help your clients and their families make
informed hearing-health choices and will promote rehabilitative success. A
flexible interface enables interactive demonstrations of the communication
difficulties caused by individual hearing losses and the improvements possible
with custom-fit hearing aids or cochlear implants. High-quality audio-visual speech
presentations clearly demonstrate the importance of speechreading, while control of
hearing aid characteristics, background noise, source direction, and reverberation
produce realistic simulations. Only the calibrated headphones (supplied) and a
Windows-based computer are required.
HeLPS is designed for use by audiologists for
family counseling, initial in-office demonstrations of amplification, hearing conservation, and
professional education. With HeLPS, you will
improve client/family understanding of both hearing
loss and available treatment options.
Visit our website for details and demos.
SENSIMETRICS
Copyright ©2006 Sensimetrics Corporation
Phone 617.625.0600
www.sens.com
ADA Convention 2006 • The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort • Scottsdale, AZ • October 11-14
Go to www. audiologist.org to
learn about the convention, get
the latest updates, or to book
your reservation online!
37
ADA President’s Message
to fit their needs. This open-market
approach has served us well in the past and
I am convinced that with open access,
patients will realize that the audiologist is
the most appropriate individual to diagnose,treat and manage hearing and balance
problems.
There are three key factors in ensuring
patient access to audiology care.
Education
We must continue to educate Doctors of
Audiology concerning systemic treatment
protocols and we must expand our pharmaceutical knowledge.All professions continue to advance their educational
foundation in order to improve patient care.
Our profession is no different. Our history
has stressed the advancement of education,
and that continues to be in the forefront.
This also implies that research must continue to advance so that we can develop and
improve patient care.
Advocacy
Each and every day, we need to ask ourselves what we have done to advocate for
our profession to legislators and to government regulators. If you experience adversarial state legislation, then your advocacy
program may need review. Advocacy is an
ongoing task that provides for opportunities
and it will buffer the impact of a perceived
peril.Advocacy is each and every audiologist’s responsibility,and the following checklist provides a gauge for your activities.
Advocacy Check List
1. Contribute to state Academy Political
Action Committee (PAC)
2. Contribute to the ADA-PAC (Total
contributions should be no less 0.5 percent
of your gross income.) Thus,$50,000 annual gross income equals $250 contribution for
advocacy; $100,000 equals $500 contribution for advocacy.
3. Attend two state fund-raising events
per annum for your state legislators who
serve on committees affecting audiology.
4. Ensure that your state Academy
employs a lobbyist.
5.Assist in promoting state Academy legislation on an annual basis.
Because more than 85 percent of
38
Congress is derived primarily from the state
Assemblies, as we develop state Assembly
contacts, our federal-level efforts will benefit. In my own experience on the federal
level during the past 10 years, I need to
spend much less time today describing
our profession’s role than I did a decade
ago.We have made substantial progress. In
another 10 years,if these checklist items are
followed, we will experience an amazing
growth in our legislative effectiveness and
results for consumers.
Self-Governing
ADA has been in existence for 30 years
and AAA for 18 years.Thus, it is clear that
in many ways the audiology profession does
have guidance over its direction with one
exception: accreditation of academic programs. Doctor of Audiology programs are
currently accredited by the Council of
Academic Accreditation, which is an
appendage of the Amer ican Speech,
Language and Hearing Association. ADA
and AAA partnered four years ago to create
the Accreditation Commission of Audiology
Education (ACAE).This new accreditation
body sets the highest standards in accreditation,and is in the process of accrediting its
first two programs. This effort requires a
substantial investment.ADA put forth nearly a quarter of a million dollars to launch this
program (over 30 percent of its annual operating budget).AAA now needs to accept its
leadership role in the agency’s long-term
success. Accreditation is one of our final
steps toward self-governing. A profession
that does not take responsibility for selfgoverning cannot shape its own future.
Thank You
Many individuals have commented that
they appreciate the time that I have spent in
a leadership role. I usually just thank them
for their kind words.However,as I conclude
my role as President of the Academy, I will
add one more comment: Serving the profession in this way has been a rewarding
experience, and I am thrilled to have had
this opportunity. Service to your state or
national academies provides for individual
growth opportunities that cannot be duplicated. Oftentimes, one may be reluctant to
contribute due to the perception that it will
take from one’s other commitments.
As professionals, we have responsibilities
not only to our families and businesses, but
also to the profession as a whole.Audiology
has served us all well, and as individuals we
need to invest in the profession.In that vein,
let me leave you with the thought that
whatever time is relinquished during one’s
service to the profession is more than compensated by the satisfaction obtained.
Rewards must be more than just personal.
Rewards are more fulfilling when they are
shared experiences.
Thank you for the opportunity! ■
Book Review
advancements in newborn-hearing screening, amplification, assistive technology, surg ical procedures, early language
interventions, educational methods, choices and safeguards for children with hearing
loss that stereotypes still exist - particularly among professionals. It is those stereotypical opinions presented in the opening
pages that provoked an unenthusiastic
continuation of reading this book that
otherwise provides beneficial information
for families. ■
Gail Sprecher,Au.D. is the Audiologist at the
Kansas School for the Deaf in Olathe, Kan. In
addition to serving the students at KSD, Dr.
Sprecher is responsible for the operation of the State
Auditory Training Equipment Program, which
provides FM amplification systems for mainstreamed students across the state. She also provides audiological consultation services to students,
professionals and parents through the program.
She earned her Doctor of Audiology degree from
the Arizona School of Health Sciences. Prior to
KSD,she worked in a private practice setting providing comprehensive audiological services. Dr.
Sprecher is a licensed audiologist in Kansas and
Missouri, a fellow member of the American
Academy of Audiology, associate member of the
American Academy of Dispensing Audiolgists
and a member of the American Speech Language
Hearing Association, Kansas Speech Language
Hearing Association,and Educational Audiology
Association.
The opinions expressed here are her own and
do not necessarily reflect those of the Academy of
Dispensing Audiologists,its members,Feedback
magazine or the editors.
OPEN APPLICATION PERIOD THROUGH OCTOBER 16TH, 2006
Widex Introduces
The Pediatric
Hearing Assistance
ProgramLoaner Network
Widex will award $100,000.00 in advanced digital hearing aids
to 10 eligible sites for use as loaner hearing aids.
Pediatric dispensing professionals in clinical settings meeting eligibility requirements are invited to apply.
Goal of the Pediatric Hearing Assistance Program
Loaner Network
• Provide immediate access to advanced digital hearing aids
as loaner hearing aids for infants and young children during
the waiting period for their permanent solution
• Close the time gap between hearing loss identification and
habilitation/intervention
Eligibility
• Professionals must be experienced pediatric dispensing
clinicians whose caseloads include newly diagnosed infants
and young children
• Priority will be given to dispensing sites with an early
identification and early intervention program
• Dispensing sites must agree to keep good record/history of
each loaner aid, submit basic fitting data and annual report
Application Details
Application is open-format, however should include the
following information at a minimum:
• The name of the manager of the loaner hearing aid bank as
well as a resume detailing his/her experience in pediatric
hearing care
• Facility description including address, patient load, patient
demographics, summary of procedures used for fitting and
verifying pediatric hearing aid fittings, summary of services
provided by facility to hearing-impaired children, Widex
account number*
• Facility’s present loaner bank situation and needs, for
example - number and type of instruments in loaner bank,
frequency of loans, ages of children receiving loaner devices,
average wait time for loaner instrument
• Goals for participating in this program, methods for ensuring
timely communication with Widex
• Applicants must be willing to learn how to fit the various
Widex products on loan
Selection Notice
• Instruments become the property of the clinical site for the
sole purpose of being used as loaner hearing aids
• Applicants will be interviewed based on application details.
Selected sites will be notified by November 27th, 2006
• Loaner aids are intended for the following groups of patients:
– Newly identified newborns or infants while awaiting approval of
Medicaid, insurance or other funding source
• Eligible sites not selected for 2007 will be wait-listed for
future awards whenever possible and when such interest is
indicated in the application
– Newly identified newborns or infants while waiting for cochlear
implant surgery
Application Due Date: October 16th, 2006
– Young children (under 12) whose hearing aids are in repair
– Loaner aids may not be fitted as a substitute for pursuing a
permanent hearing solution
*Widex Account Number not required
Applications should be forwarded to:
Francis Kuk, Ph.D., Director of Audiology
Widex Office of Research in Clinical Amplification,
2300 Cabot Drive, Lisle, IL 60532
Phone: 630-245-0025 E-mail: pediatric@widexmail.com
1.800.221.0188 • www.widexPro.com
Academy of Dispensing Audiologists®
401 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2200
Chicago, IL 60611
Return Service Requested
PRSRT STD
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PERMIT 535

The Official Publication of The Academy of Dispensing Audiologists®

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