International Award for Hearing

Suzanne Purdy is a true international audiologist, having made substantial contributions to the profession of audiology in New Zealand and globally over her 30-plus year career.

After earning her PhD at the University of Iowa, she helped establish New Zealand’s first audiology master’s program and then spent three years as senior research scientist at National Acoustic Laboratories in Sydney, Australia.

She has held multiple academic positions at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, where she is currently head of the School of Psychology.

Dr. Purdy has published 160 peer-reviewed articles in top audiology and medical journals and is in high demand as an international speaker.

Her extensive research interests range from auditory processing disorders to the effects of socioeconomic deprivation on hearing loss and language delay in children. With colleagues, she has originated novel approaches to rehabilitation for neurological conditions, including Māori-led community initiatives.Dr. Purdy’s professional service is extensive, but most notably, her ancestral links to the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand have led her to take a strong interest in Māori hearing health and wellbeing. She is held in high esteem and affection by her patients, students, and international colleagues, evidenced by supporters of Dr. Purdy’s awards nomination from six nations.

David T. Kemp clearly merits the Academy’s 2019 International Award for Hearing, due to his revolutionary and paradigm-shifting contributions to audiology practices and auditory research around the world. His landmark discovery of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) in 1978 revealed that the cochlea generates sound and is much more than a passive receptor. Subsequently, David Kemp’s basic and translational hearing research with OAEs illuminated our theoretical understanding of hearing. He refined the use of OAEs as a critical method of characterizing auditory function, as now adopted by newborn hearing screening programs worldwide. OAEs have become key tools used to understand auditory neuropathy, probe other forms of cochlear and neural hearing loss, and provide important crosschecks with behavioral test methods.

In addition, David Kemp’s discoveries, inventions, collaborations, and teaching serve as the foundations for careers of many audiologists and hearing scientists. He developed a commercial resource to facilitate implementation of OAEs that continues, under his leadership, to be a driving force in the arena of clinical instrumentation. The resources from that company have helped to build a premier auditory research center at the Centre for Auditory Research, University College of London Ear Institute. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, has earned the Award of Merit from the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, and the von Bekesy Medal from the Acoustical Society of America. He is respected for sharing his time and his talents abundantly with colleagues and students.

Dr. Barajas was awarded his degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Navarra in Spain in 1970, before attaining his diploma in the specialism of laryngology and otology in London and becoming an otolaryngology specialist in 1977. His doctoral of medicine was awarded in 1985 on the, “”Evoked Auditory Action Potential of the Brainstem in Neurological Diagnosis.”” He has had appointments in the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, as well as the Canary Islands.

As an otolaryngologist and audiological physician, he ran a busy clinical practice that provided opportunities for many students to be involved in activities related to the theory and practice of electrophysiology and the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of the disorders of voice, language, and hearing. The clinic also provided opportunities for hands-on service through surgical and audiologic management of patients with an otologic disease, hearing loss, and vestibular disorders. These included amplification and cochlear implants for infants and children identified with hearing loss.

In addition to his substantial clinical activities, Dr. Barajas has been committed to research on hearing impairment, assessment techniques, electrophysiology, and rehabilitation of people with hearing loss. This is evidenced by a full curriculum vitae that include 66 publication in peer-reviewed journals, nine book chapters, 157 presentations at seminars and invited lectures, and 94 conference presentations. His publications have been on the leading edge of professional knowledge, beginning with impedance measurements in the early days, through electrophysiology and cochlear implants. Many of his publications have been on basic science topics related to audition. A review of Citation Index indicates that his work is well recognized and frequently cited in the world literature. In addition to his personal publications, Dr. Barajas has served on many editorial boards as reviewer and editor. Finally, he has organized and hosted major audiology and hearing science meetings in Tenerife, Canary Islands, that include meetings of the European Federation of Audiological Societies and the International Evoked Response Audiometry Study Group. He has had university appointments in Spain, Brazil, and Columbia.

Dr. Barajas has made numerous contributions to the audiology profession through founding organizations, volunteering on scientific committees, and serving in leadership roles. He served as the president of the International Association of Physicians in Audiology in 2004, and president of the International Society of Audiology from 2010-2012.

Humanitarian activities have also been championed by Dr. Barajas. He has been the director for Spain’s Special Olympics Health Hearing movement that is based in Washington, D.C. He has also worked in several International Olympic Games including Japan, Italy, and Greece. In 1985, he founded The Canarian Foundation Dr. Barajas, a non-profit organization for prevention and investigation of deafness.

Dr. Barajas has served his profession with genuine enthusiasm and is considered a warm and friendly ambassador among professionals from around the world. It is for these attributes and a truly outstanding service to the profession of audiology in all aspects of clinical, academic, research, and professional pursuits that Dr. José Juan Barajas de Prat will receive the International Award in Hearing.

Dr. Kramer is currently a university research professor in auditory functioning and participation in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam. This prestigious appointment is a testament to the significant impact that Dr. Kramer has made on the practice and discipline of audiology in the Netherlands, and more widely at an international level.

Dr. Kramer completed her training in neuro-psychology and then her PhD in audiology at the VU University in Amsterdam. This set the scene for Dr. Kramer to bring together her interests in both psychology and audiology to develop new approaches to rehabilitative audiology for adults. Her pioneering work has focussed on the pyschosocial, occupational, and cognitive aspects of hearing impairment that has provided new and important insights into the experiences of people with hearing loss. She is well known for her pioneering use of pupillometry as an objective measure of listening effort.

Outside of her home country, where she is an active member of the Netherlands Audiology Association, she has also established herself as a leader within the European audiology community, with collaborative projects with colleagues in Denmark, Germany, Poland, Sweden, and Wales. Since 2008, she has been a member of the Steering Committee of the World Health Organisation International Classification of Functioning Core Set Project.

Between 2008 and 2011, Dr. Kramer has also been a member of the Steering Committee for the European Concerted Action AHEAD III (Assessment of Hearing in Elderly: Aging and Degeneration), has served as member of the Ida Institute Advisory Board and currently sits on the Ida Institute International Research Committee. She has collaborated beyond Europe as a highly respected international expert in rehabilitative audiology where she has helped shape the direction of audiology globally. Most notably, she has taken an international leadership role serving as the President of the International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology from 2011-2013.

Academically, Dr. Kramer has a well-deserved reputation as an outstanding researcher and has an impressive record of capturing research funding. She has mentored 20 doctoral students, 10 master’s students, and numerous post-doctoral fellow and research associates, and coordinates a Marie-Curie ITN European Industrial Doctorate Programme. She has served on the editorial boards for a number of journals (e.g., Trends in Amplification), and has published over 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals, written many book chapters, and co-wrote her book Living with Hearing Loss: The Process of Enablement with the late Dr Dai Stephens. Dr. Kramer is a wonderful communicator and has been tireless in the widespread dissemination of her research that has led to her being invited to give over 50 presentations world-wide, with 8 keynote lectures.

Her impact on global audiology is evidenced by outstanding contributions in all of the following areas—clinical, academic, research, and professional, making Dr. Kramer a truly worthy recipient of the Academy’s International Award in Hearing.

When the wise men and women of the Academy came up with the International Award in Hearing “to honor and recognize achievements of international significance in audiology,” they obviously had someone like Harvey Dillon, PhD, in mind. A key requirement is that the recipient of the award must have provided “outstanding service to the profession of audiology in a clinical, academic, research or professional capacity.” Dr. Dillon, however, does not quite meet these requirements, as worded. His service to the profession is not limited to a clinical or academic or research or professional capacity. He has made major contributions to the profession of audiology in every one of these areas.

Dr. Dillon’s clinical contributions include innovative new clinical tests and methods of evaluation that are now widely used. One example is the Client Oriented Scale of Improvement (COSI), developed by Dr. Dillon and his colleagues. This technique represents a major advance in the clinical evaluation of hearing aids, rehabilitation strategies, and other methods for improving hearing health. Dr. Dillon’s recent work on developing new ways of evaluating central auditory processing disorders is another example of his many clinical contributions.

His academic contributions are also substantive and of international significance. He is well known as a lecturer who can reduce the complexity of difficult concepts for his attentive audience. A measure of the quality of his teaching is the frequent number of times he has been invited to lecture in countries throughout the world. His textbook, Hearing Aids, now in its second edition, has become the standard reference internationally for students, educators, clinicians, researchers, and others with an interest in hearing aids.

Dr. Dillon’s research contributions have had a major impact on the profession. He has published over 200 scientific articles with a worldwide readership. The Academy recognized him as an outstanding researcher when he received the Research Achievement Award in 2003. He has continued to receive an array of international awards for his research and the application of his research in clinical practice.

The professional contributions of Dr. Dillon are wide-ranging and profound. As director of the Australian National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL), he has had a major impact on the profession of audiology in Australia and abroad. His insightful leadership of a talented team of researchers and clinicians has resulted in substantive contributions to the profession with concomitant improvements in audiological practice throughout the world. The Academy chose well in selecting Harvey Dillon for the International Award in Hearing.

Dr. Pichora-Fuller is a full professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. She is also an adjunct scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, an adjunct scientist at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest in Toronto, and a guest professor at Linköping University in Sweden.

She completed a BA in linguistics at the University of Toronto (1977) and an MSc in audiology and speech sciences at the University of British Columbia (1980). She worked as a clinical audiologist and then the supervisor of audiology at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto where she was involved in research on hearing rehabilitation. She completed her doctoral studies in psychology at the University of Toronto (PhD, 1991).

Dr. Pichora-Fuller combines her clinical experience in rehabilitative audiology with experimental psychology and has earned an international reputation for her interdisciplinary approach in linking research on auditory and cognitive processing during communication in everyday life. She is now applying her lab-based research on communication in healthy aging to try to find solutions to the communication problems of the increasing number of older adults who suffer from both hearing and cognitive impairments.

Her work has been funded by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. She is actively involved as the expert on hearing in the Clinical Working Group and the Psychology Working Group for the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging.

She has been a president of the Canadian Association of Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists (1984–1987), and she served on the executive boards of the Canadian Acoustical Association (1998–2002, 2011–present), the International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology (1997–2003), and the Canadian Academy of Audiology (2002–2004), and she was the Canadian representative to the International Society of Audiology (2004–2010). She is presently a cochair of the World Congress of Audiology to be held in Vancouver in September 2016. She serves on the editorial boards of theInternational Journal of Audiology and Ear and Hearing.

Dr. Hickson has significantly contributed to the enhancement of the lives of hearing-impaired individuals and their families, to our scientific knowledge, and to the future careers of her many postgraduate students who have benefited from her guidance and mentoring. Her work is cross-disciplinary, bridging the gaps between clinical practice and research, between audiology and other health sciences, between technology and the user, and between quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

Her clinical impacts are highlighted in the adoption of her Active Communication Enhancement (ACE) audiological rehabilitation (AR) program by clinics across Australia and in her work with the IDA Institute, for which she is chair of the Advisory Board, a faculty member, and a leading participant in the development of innovative tools for AR. She has also advised hearing rehabilitation service providers in Australia and overseas, and is a member of the federal government’s Hearing Services Consultancy Committee.

As a scientist, her rigorous, timely, and innovative studies have addressed clinically relevant questions about the effectiveness of AR and ways it can be improved. Her contributions are reflected in an impressive record of over 170 scientific publications since 1992, addressing topics such as help-seeking for hearing loss, patient-centered audiological rehabilitation, measurement of hearing aid outcomes, and the impact of hearing loss on the unimpaired partner. It is noteworthy that almost without exception her research has direct clinical implications for the practice of rehabilitative audiology.

Dr. Hickson is a professor of audiology, Head of the School of Health and Rehabilitative Sciences, and director of the Communication Disability Centre at The University of Queensland. Twice she has received awards from the university recognizing her excellence in teaching and supervision. Her mentoring skills are further reflected in the many students that have gone from her laboratory to become successful independent scientists in their own right.

Finally, Dr. Hickson is a generous member of the scientific community. Not only is she an editor of theInternational Journal of Audiology, but she has served on organizing committees of conferences, she is a member of the International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology (ICRA)a group of 50 elected researchers from around the world with interests in habilitation and rehabilitation, and she is a highly sought after lecturer and keynote speaker. In the last few years, she has been an invited speaker at conferences in Russia, Sweden, Brazil, and Poland, to name but a few.

Dr. Louise Hickson has made internationally significant contributions to the field of rehabilitative audiologythe profession is lucky to have her. Congratulations.

Birger Kollmeier, PhD, is being honored with the American Academy of Audiology International Award due to the strong contributions he has made to audiology in English and non-English-speaking countries. He has had a very strong influence and made outstanding contributions to hearing science, psychophysics, auditory electrophysiology, hearing aid development, and evidence-based hearing aid evaluation.

Prior to his current appointment that began in 1993, as a full professor in experimental and applied in physics at the University of Oldenburg, Dr. Kollmeier gained broad and extensive experience in research and academia. His early educational experience includes receiving a PhD in physics (1982), a PhD in medicine (1986), and the award of a Fulbright Scholarship with a one-year research visit to St. Louis, USA (1982). He ably worked his way through the academic ranks of assistant and then associate professor from 1986 to 1992 at Göttingen University. 

Dr. Kollmeier is well-known and held in high esteem by his peers in Germany and internationally, and is chair of the German Audiological Society. Since 2000, Dr. Kollmeier has been the chair of the International Graduate School, Neurosensory Science and Systems, and is also chair of the National Center of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering. His practical approach to hearing sciences has led to advances in audiology, digital signal processing for hearing aids, speech intelligibility testing in German language, and diagnostics. In fact, the research group he leads in the medical physics section at the University of Oldenburg, was one he originally founded 22 years ago, that focuses on multidisciplinary knowledge of the auditory system to improve hearing aids. 

In addition to his notable successes, Dr. Kollmeier has supervised several PhD candidates who have become industry and academic leaders. His extensive publications span three decades and cover a wide range of topics that have expanded the scientific body of knowledge not only in Germany but also worldwide. Several of his ideas have found their way into state of the art hearing instruments and have been patented. With this extremely strong background, Dr. Kollmeier is very deserving of the honor of the International Award from the American Academy of Audiology.

John Bamford, PhD, has worked tirelessly in the United Kingdom to upgrade professional audiological services through education and training. Among John’s greatest contributions is his work with Adrian Davis, to develop a national program for infant hearing screening, and extensive follow-up diagnostic and family-centered services.

As the chair and Ellis Llwyd professor of audiology and deaf education, he has helped to elevate the University of Manchester program in audiology one of the best known and most prestigious in the world. It is now considered the leading provider of vocational training and education in audiology, speech language therapy, and deaf education in the U.K. In fact, the National Student Survey, an annual evaluation of all university degrees in the U.K., ranked the audiology and speech and language programs at 91 percent.

Between 2001 and 2005, John worked closely with the Medical Research Council in England to carry out a series of multi-center studies, which ultimately led to the development and implementation of a comprehensive, evidenced based national infant program. The program has served as the model for many jurisdictions throughout the world. Along with his policy development, John has been an innovator in clinical care. He introduced visual reinforcement audiometry into clinical practice, while the rest of the U.K. was still using the Ewing distraction test.

John has been an active member of the professional community and, in particular, the British Society of Audiology (BSA), and the British Academy of Audiology (BAA). He was editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Audiology when it merged with Scandinavian Audiology and Audiology to become the International Journal of Audiology. John has been awarded life membership in both the BSA and BAA, and has received numerous awards, including the TS Littler Prize, the most prestigious award of the BSA. There is a “”Bamford Lecture”” at the annual conference of the BAA. John is currently chair of the National Audiology Review Committee for the Republic of Ireland. Furthermore, his advice on audiological matters is often sought in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. He has also been active in the Royal National Institute of the Deaf, National Deaf Children’s Society, and Defeating Deafness—UK. He is on the advisory board of Hear The World Foundation. He has been co-chair of four of the Phonak “”Sound Foundations”” Conferences, and has successfully edited their proceedings.

John has a highly respected ciricullum vitae, which includes over 60 studies published in peer reviewed journals that have focused on epidemiology, screening, identification, and intervention for children with hearing impairment.

John Bamford has a lifetime of contribution to audiology, as well as a world-wide reputation. He is truly deserving of the International Award of the American Academy of Audiology.

William J. Keith, PhD, is one of those rare individuals who has not only worn many hats, but worn each with distinction. One hat worn by Dr. Keith has been as an audiologist. Here, he excelled; quickly working his way up to the title of principal audiologist, subsequently becoming director, of the National Audiology Centre in New Zealand. He used his expertise and influence to grow the profession of audiology in New Zealand by recruiting psychology students into the profession, adeptly working to establish scholarship support for audiology students through the New Zealand government, and helping establish the first academic training program in New Zealand for audiologists at the University of Auckland in 1990. He was also one of the key founders of the New Zealand Audiological Society. In short, the name “”Bill Keith”” is synonymous with audiological excellence in New Zealand.

Another hat worn by Dr. Keith has been that of entrepreneur and businessman. Here too, he excelled. First, inventing and developing a pediatric audiometer and products for the blind in his roles as founding partner, director and manager of the Audiology Division of Pulse Data International. Soon after, Dr. Keith began as managing director for Phonak New Zealand, providing creative and visionary leadership there for 16 years. Under his leadership, the company received national awards of business excellence in 1999 and 2005. In 2006, the New Zealand Prime Minister personally presented him with the Enviromark Gold Certification award, recognizing his company’s accomplishments in environmental sustainability, one of the first companies in New Zealand to receive such recognition. A hallmark of his time at Phonak NZ was that the company not only “”did well,”” but also “”did good.”” At the time of his retirement from Phonak NZ, the company was the top hearing instrument supplier in the country.

Dr. Keith took just as much pride in other accomplishments during this time, including the creation of scholarships for audiology students, advocacy for audiologist involvement in workers’ compensation programs, and the promotion of ethical professional business practices, including advocacy for the closure of manufacturer-operated audiology clinics in New Zealand.

Finally, a third hat worn by Dr. Keith has been that of compassionate advocate and humanitarian. Once again, he has excelled in this regard. In fact, the Academy’s Honors Committee, when reviewing and discussing nominees for various awards, deliberated as to whether the International Award or the Humanitarian Award would be most appropriate for Dr. Keith. He has been a tireless advocate for the identification and treatment of hearing loss in children. He helped to establish audiology services in public hospitals and schools for the deaf throughout New Zealand. He helped to start the first cochlear implant program while at the National Audiology Centre and currently is the chair of the Northern Cochlear Implant Trust, a government appointed trust that administers cochlear implant services in New Zealand. While at Phonak NZ, Dr. Keith established an overseas audiology aid project in western Fiji, with regular visits by audiologists and hearing-aid technicians, as well as free hearing aids for those in need. This program has been in operation for nearly a decade and has helped hundreds, if not thousands, of Fijian children.

The preceding paragraphs only highlight three of the many hats worn by Dr. Keith over the years and only touch on the important contributions made by Bill when serving in each of those capacities. It is clear, even from this brief synopsis, that Dr. William J. Keith is most deserving of this recognition by the Academy.

Dr. Adrian Davis has a list of accomplishments so long, there is not enough room to present them in this short biography! He initiated, developed, and still manages the National Hearing Service Newborn Hearing Screening Program for England, an evidenced-based model that set the benchmark for programs all over the world. He initiated, developed and still manages the NHS Hearing Aid Program for England, a system that provides appropriate and properly fitted hearing aids for its citizens.

Dr. Davis is a known throughout the world as a scientist and researcher with a list of over 200 referred publications. He has been the principle investigator in numerous national studies concerning hearing, tinnitus, balance, and rhinology in both adults and children. He and his colleagues completed a national study of hearing that investigated the prevalence of deafness and lifestyle influences impacting the hearing impaired in England. His total research and development program grants for the last three years alone total over 45 million British Pounds. He serves on the managing Council of the International Journal of Audiology and he is a frequent attendee and speaker at the Academy’s convention—AudiologyNOW!—the ICA, and in Asia, Europe and South America.

Prior to entering academia, Dr. Davis was a practicing Benedictine monk and was studying for the priesthood. However, science called, and he obtained his BSc from Exeter University in mathematical statistics and Psychology; his MSc from Stirling University in mathematical psychology; and his PhD from University College London in psychology. In his early scientific work, Dr. Davis studied lateralization and brain function. However, in 1978, he moved to the Medical Research Council laboratories at Nottingham University where he became interested in hearing—and, as they say, “The rest is history.”

It goes without saying that Dr. Davis exudes a strong sense of community and has been proactive for the profession of audiology and the patients we serve. He has been chair of the British Society of Audiology and a council member of the International Journal of Audiology. He is also an elected fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, the Faculty of Public Health of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal Society for Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce.

Dr. Davis is so well respected and appreciated in his own land, that Queen Elizabeth II awarded him the Order of the British Empire. With such a notable background, one can clearly understand why Dr. Davis would be a logical recipient and much deserving to the Academy’s International Award for Hearing, and he would do us honor to accept it.

Dr. Stig Arlinger’s contributions to audiology and the international community are extensive and wide-reaching. Until recently, he was a professor and audiologist in the Department of Technical Audiology, Linköping, Sweden. Dr. Arlinger has been an avid clinician and researcher for over 40 years and has published more than 250 articles in the areas of audiological diagnosis, rehabilitation, hearing aids, and noise protection. He served for 10 years in the role of editor or co-editor for Scandinavian Audiology. Moreover, his collaborative participation and visionary mindset in the European and international community produced significant resources for hearing professionals around the world. He was instrumental in forming the highly prominent International Journal of Audiology. He sat for more than 30 years on the International Standards Organization (ISO) and is the recipient of the Silver Ear from the Swedish Audiological Society, the Aram Glorig Award from the International Society of Audiology and an honorary doctorate, Honoris Causa, from the faculty of Arts and Sciences, Linköping University. The American Academy of Audiology is proud to award Dr. Stig Arlinger the International Award in Audiology in recognition of his long-standing dedication to the field and his collaborative, international achievements.

Dr. Peter Blamey is known as an outstanding research scientist who has made significant and sustained contributions to the field of audiology and to hearing-impaired adults and children worldwide. Dr. Blamey’s excellence as a researcher has been shown by many appointments as Chief Investigator on multiple National Health and Medical Research Council project grants and was a National Health and Medical Senior Research Council Senior Research Fellow. Dr. Blamey was a pioneer in the development of the cochlear implant. He also led seminal research into the use of a cochlear implant and hearing aid in opposite ears. This research provided a unique opportunity to compare acoustic and electric signals in one listener to enhance understanding in auditory processing. He conducted longitudinal research regarding language, speech perception, and speech production development in children using cochlear implants and hearing aids. His research provided new theoretical perspectives regarding the relationship between hearing and language development. His findings led to the development of a language-based criterion for cochlear implantation in children. Dr. Blamey is currently a Director and Chief Technical Officer of Dynamic Hearing Pty Ltd and an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Melbourne.

Dr. Richard Seewald has contributed research findings in pediatric amplification for more than 25 years. Dr. Seewald’s paper entitled “Selecting Amplification Characteristics for Young Hearing-Impaired Children” quickly became a classic in pediatric audiology. His critical approach to determine the amplification needs for infants and young children raised the bar in pediatric hearing aid research. Dr. Seewald’s Desired Sensation Level Approach (DSL) hearing aid fitting method is used worldwide to ensure that infants and children receive appropriate amplification for loudness comfort and speech-language development. Dr. Seewald has continued to refine his recommendations and assess their validity to improve the ability of clinicians to provide optimal hearing aid fittings for infants and children. Dr. Seewald is known as an excellent teacher. In addition to his many publications and presentations, Dr. Seewald has mentored 47 master and 2 doctoral students. He has taught students and practicing clinicians that audiology care for infants and young children is a science and an art. Dr. Seewald not only has an excellent understanding of technologic and theoretical issues, but he also is a clinician with the compassion and interpersonal skills to work with children and their families. Dr. Seewald has brought his research finding into the clinic of every pediatric audiologist.

In his 20 years in the profession, Dr. David Baguley has been extremely prolific with over 100 peer-reviewed publications, 2 books, and 9 book chapters in almost all aspects of audiology. He has given over 100 presentations to audiences all over the world. His work in tinnitus was most recently honored as the invited 2005 Tonndorf Lecturer at the VIII International Tinnitus Seminar. Beyond his research and academic credits, Dr. Baguley was instrumental in forming the International Committee of the American Academy of Audiology and served as its co-chair for three years. He is a founding member of the British Audiologic Academy. One of his most notable professional achievements has been his involvement in changing the service delivery in the United Kingdom that places audiologists and nurse practitioners as the gatekeepers to hearing healthcare. His clinical, research, and service contributions have had tremendous impact on audiology not only in the United Kingdom but on the profession as a whole, and for this, he is most worthy of this recognition.

Dr. Stuart Gatehouse’s achievements exemplify the very basis of this award. While his name is synonymous with hearing aid research, his over 100 published articles have a broader spectrum addressing such issues as medical audiology, basic audiologic and electrophysiologic testing, as well as issues related to successful use of amplification including the underlying dimensions and determinants of auditory disability, handicap, and benefit; however, his contributions are not limited to the laboratory. His clinical contributions have been nearly as important as his basic science work. Two examples of his clinical work are seen in outcome measures he developed: the Glasgow Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (GPHAB) and the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ, along with William Noble). The GPHAB is a well-known outcome measure documenting hearing aid satisfaction and benefit. Perhaps it is his pioneering work in the studies of perceptual acclimatization to amplified speech and its implications with hearing aid use that is most recognized in the international hearing aid community. Dr. Gatehouse is truly an international scholar whose contributions have had dramatic influence in many areas of audiology.