This article is a part of the May/June 2025, Volume 37, Number 3, Audiology Today issue.
President
May is both Better Hearing Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, making it the perfect time to talk about protecting our mental health and reducing burnout in our audiology community.
To be completely vulnerable, I have struggled with depression in my life. About 11 years ago, I hit my lowest point—feeling worthless, isolated, and experiencing suicidal ideation. When you don’t care about yourself, it’s hard to care about anything else. My brain hijacked me and led me to believe that I wasn’t good enough, I didn’t matter, and no one would miss me. I struggled to put on a happy (or even a neutral) face and go to work and attend to my other commitments. I often reflect on all the moments I could have missed over the past decade had I not found my way through. Thankfully, my mental health has improved, but I know many others continue to struggle every day.
Mental health challenges are not isolated incidents. We are seeing increases in reported mental health concerns among health-care providers, who are experiencing higher levels of fatigue, stress, and burnout. We must prioritize ourselves in this busy world. We do not need to always say yes. There is no prize for having your schedule completely filled. And I am the first to admit that this is easier said than done.
Finding ways to protect our personal time and mental health is paramount to reducing burnout. I first met our conference keynote speaker, Nadene Cherry, at a conference in January 2024. After her presentation, I began taking moments to pause before the start of the day or before a big meeting. For example, I sit in my car in the morning in the parking garage at work, just quietly sit for a minute and prepare for the day. I also do this before big events or important meetings. These small moments of stillness make a difference.
Self-care practices—like meditation—must be authentic to each individual. I never felt comfortable meditating; it felt weird to me. In an interview I did with Nadene before our conference, one statement resonated with me: “The most important meeting you’ll have all day is the one with yourself.” These moments of pause are the meetings with myself, to reduce my burnout.
Burnout is affecting audiology and every other health-care profession. Many professionals are considering leaving the field, and we are already facing an audiology shortage. Like a rubber band stretched too far, we can only take so much before we snap. We are constantly pulled in different directions—by work, family, friends, and personal responsibilities. Maintaining work–life balance is more difficult than ever, especially with work invading home life through e-mails, texts, and calls. Meanwhile, the rising cost of living, increasing demands, and a noticeable decline in empathy and compassion add to the strain.
The compassion and care we extend to our patients, we must also extend to ourselves. Our lives are not perfect Pinterest images, and that is okay. It is okay to say no when a patient is being unreasonable. It is okay to set boundaries. Take the time to make that meeting with yourself. The Academy is committed to improving not just clinical care but also the well-being of audiologists. We must feel empowered to say no when something compromises our mental health, to say yes to fair compensation, and to say yes to better work–life balance.
Finally, I want to remind you: you are loved, you are special, and you are important to those around you.
Patricia Gaffney, AuD, MPH
President
