We do not do hearing and balance tests.
We do not sell devices.
We…
Change the course of cognitive decline for patients
Reduce the
risk of patients falling
Start a
chain of events for a child that will promote reading, education, and employment
Prevent
social isolation
In fact, we
ensure social participation which increases life expectancy.
We,
Decrease
depression
Decrease
medical adverse events
Decrease
hospitalization and readmissions
And we
can save the health care system over 3.3 billion dollars per year
You may do
this directly or you may be the educator of the next generation of
audiologists. You may be the researcher who develops better ways to impact
health and education. Whatever your
role, it is critical to the patients we serve and the profession who serves
them.
We often
talk about how important it is that others recognize what we do and it is. It is just as important that we recognize
what we do and use language that reflects our place in the health care value
chain.
There has
never been a better time to be an audiologist.
We are experts in communication which is essential to the human
condition. We are experts in balance
which is critical to basic human survival.
It’s not
about hearing, it’s about communication, brain health, and healthy aging. The
ear is the doorway to the brain.
It’s not
about dizziness or balance, it’s about wellness, navigating your environment,
and aging in place.
We do not
do hearing and balance tests. We do not
sell devices.
Why do we
need to embrace this language? Why do we need to pay attention to our words?
Because the
future is going to look different and we need to position ourselves to play an
essential role in wellness and improved health outcomes. Our role will be as experts in communication
and balance. The people who can use test
results to create treatment plans customized for individuals who present with
unique abilities, needs, and challenges.
Professionals who function as a critical part of a health care or
educational team who bring value to the individual and society by virtue of our
training, knowledge, and skill set.
In the
future, there will be hearing and balance tests and most likely they will be
wildly advanced from what we know now.
And there will be devices, more advanced than we can imagine. But none of these will define us, our unique
contribution to our patients will be our ability to improve quality of life in
a cost-effective manner using all of the unique, emerging tools in our armamentarium.
Imagine
that you are the health care team member who uses recent advances in auditory
neuroscience to assess an individual’s brain’s response to sound. You are in charge of creating a treatment
plan that will include auditory training to reverse deprivation effects caused
by untreated hearing loss. You create a
personalized care plan that is monitored through advanced assessment of
plasticity changes that signal recovery of processing function which ultimately
allows the patient to make the best use of the technology you recommend.
What will
it take to create this future? One,
recognizing and embracing our place in the health care value chain. Two, collaboration between the people in this
room – academics who produce new knowledge, industry partners who create the
tools to act on this knowledge, and audiologists who put this knowledge into
action to impact lives. Three,
collaboration with other health care professionals. We need to manage the assessment and
treatment of hearing and balance problems when they are not the primary health
concern but left untreated will negatively impact health outcomes.
I encourage you to use the educational sessions and exhibit hall at this convention to hone your current knowledge and skill set with an eye to the future. I challenge you to use language that reflects what you do – ask an exhibitor how their new product will improve your patient’s quality of life. Ask a presenter how their data will impact your patient’s ability to be the best version of themselves.
Catherine Palmer, PhD, President-elect, American Academy of Audiology
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