Educational Sessions

Presented by: Antony Joseph, AuD, PhD; Luke Berenbrok, PharmD; Julie Grove, MPT; Carrie Rubenstein, MD
Friday, April 21, 4:00-5:30 pm

When caring for individuals and families living with complex conditions, it is essential to form an interprofessional collaborative-care team. Interprofessional practice may be performed during the evaluation and treatment of individuals with hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance problems, including infants, children, and adults.

Presenters from geriatric medicine, physical therapy, pharmacy, and audiology will describe how interprofessional collaborative practice has been administered at their clinics, offer suggestions about pragmatic approaches to interprofessional education, and explain how patients benefit from interprofessional collaboration. Session participants should prepare to engage in a case-based exercise to discuss opportunities for interprofessionalism using a patient example.

Sachin Gupta, MD, FACS; and Stacey Watson, AuD
Wednesday, April 19, 12:45–2:15 pm

Cochlear implant (CI) indications continue to expand, allowing for improved hearing outcomes in patients with single-sided deafness and residual hearing. Audiometric guidelines have evolved to help audiologists identify a broader range of potential CI candidates. CIs also can provide significant benefit in patients with concurrent tinnitus. Lastly, improved surgical techniques and intra-operative monitoring show promise for improving rates of residual hearing preservation.

Anna Jilla, AuD, PhD; Andrea Gohmert, AuD; and J. Connor Sullivan, AuD
Friday, April 21, 7:45–9:15 am

This session will provide an overview of audiology-related coding and reimbursement changes that have occurred since the last annual meeting. We will provide updates on the 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule; coding, reimbursement, and regulatory issues related to prescription and over-the-counter hearing aids; and changes under the Medicare Quality Payment Program. Attendees will be given resources for continued learning.

Violette Lavender, AuD; and Gretchen Mueller, DPT
Friday, April 21, 9:45–11:15 am

Drs. Lavender and Mueller will be combining their 15-plus years of experience in pediatric vestibular assessment and rehabilitation to present a comprehensive look at pediatric vestibular care from birth to 21 years. Typical infant and child development will be discussed and will lay the foundation for identifying children who may be affected by vestibular and balance dysfunction.

Successful screening and testing techniques, as well as normal and abnormal findings, will be the focus of the assessment portion of the lecture given by Dr. Lavender. Dr. Mueller will discuss the vestibular physical therapist’s role in vestibular and balance assessment, as well as successful strategies to use with children for vestibular rehabilitation. Didactic case studies and video examples will be used to demonstrate testing and rehabilitation techniques.

Victor Bray, PhD; Alecia Manning, AuD; Melissa Ferrello, AuD; and Maria Pomponio
Saturday, April 22, 8:00-10:00 am

The Academy Code of Ethics specifies professional standards that allow for the proper discharge of audiologists' responsibilities to those served and that protect the integrity of the profession. While the standards are general guidelines for ethical conduct, the application of the guidelines in specific situations may be problematic. This presentation will bring forth for group discussion three current areas of clinical concern. First is common clinical practices that may rise to the level of a conflict of interest. Second is ethical considerations related to billing and coding. And, the third is clinical and business considerations surrounding manufacturer loan agreements.

Jonathon Whitton, AuD, PhD
Thursday, April 20, 2:30–4:00 pm

Therapeutics are now being developed for both congenital and acquired forms of sensorineural hearing loss. Discoveries of the underlying genetic drivers of congenital pediatric hearing loss have informed novel gene therapy approaches that are poised to enter clinical trials. Prevention of acquired sensorineural hearing loss, a common side effect of cisplatin treatment, is now being studied in clinical trials with some reports of positive outcomes.

This session will highlight the landscape of therapeutic development for monogenic otic diseases and cisplatin ototoxicity and discuss ways in which audiologists will be involved in catalyzing and delivering new therapeutics to patients. The session also will provide a real-world case study of two therapeutic programs currently in development.

Catherine Palmer, PhD; Ryan McCreery, PhD; and Gus Mueller, PhD
Friday, April 21, 2:00–3:30 pm

New additions to the evidence-base covering pre-fitting measures, signal processing and features, verification, pediatrics, and real-world outcomes will be reviewed with an eye on what is useful to you and your patients. Specifically, studies that provide data that can be used Monday morning have been selected for presentation in this session.

Evelyn Davies-Venn, AuD, PhD; Antony Joseph, AuD, PhD; and Angela Shoup, PhD
Wednesday, April 19, 12:45-2:15 pm

Collaborative diverse teams with distinct perspectives outperform homogenous teams in global innovation and competitiveness. This interactive workshop will engage participants in a lively discussion about the need for open dialogues on the lack of diversity in the field of audiology and hearing science and how this affects the quality of clinical service delivery, the educational experience, and generalizability of research findings.

We will discuss the current state, importance, and impact of a diverse clinical, educational, and scientific workforce within the Academy community. In addition to the role of mentoring and other proven strategies to increase recruitment, retention, and scientific participation for diverse professionals, we will discuss the benefits of transforming systems to engage inclusion, access, and belonging.

Catherine Palmer, PhD; Ursula Findlen, PhD; Anna Jilla, AuD, PhD; Ryan McCreery, PhD; Todd Ricketts, PhD; and Aaron Roman, AuD
Thursday, April 20, 8:00–9:30 am

This session will focus on the interaction between audiology and over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids in a number of areas including state licensure, communication with patients, unbundled billing, performance of devices including applying clinical measurements, and taking a look at the landscape six months after OTCs have hit the market. The panel will approach this through the lens of several patient cases so the attendee can relate the information to their everyday practice.

Patricia Bravo, MBA, Leadership Development Consultant, Bravo For You
Thursday, April 20, 4:30-6:00 pm

Have you ever arrived to work in the morning with optimism for a great day and left feeling discouraged after an unforeseen conflict? Conflict is inevitable, but that doesn't mean it has to be disruptive. Come gain invaluable insight on common types of workplace conflict, why healthy workplaces embrace them and utilizing empathy as your toolkit when handling these situations.