Welcome back to the PulseTone! This is the sixth installment of the New Professional’s e-newsletter.  You can find the previous installments here.  We know you are busy and receive many emails so we promise to keep this short but informative.

Wait a second – who is ‘we’?

“We” is the New Professionals Committee.  We’ve been around for a few years now, and are tasked with identifying and promoting the needs of New Professionals within the Academy.  Communication is a two-way street, and we want to improve our connections with all of our fellow NPs.

Wondering how to get involved in the Academy? Sign-in to the Audiology Community and under the “Volunteer” tab, select “Current Volunteer Opportunities” for a listing of all open opportunities. The main call for volunteers is happening soon – applications open Friday, March 15. Check it out or view the Academy’s volunteer FAQ page for more information.

It has been three months since our last issue and a lot has happened since then…

• On October 5, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted a news release allowing marketing of the “first self-fitting hearing aid, ” the BOSE Hearphones. These devices are the first FDA approved hearing aids designed for the user to fit, program, and control the hearing aid on their own. The current product is intended for adults 18 years of age and older with mild to moderate hearing impairment. Furthermore, the device must comply with federal and state laws regarding the sale of hearing aids. You might be asking yourself, can individuals  buy Over-the-Counter (OTC) hearing aids now? Currently OTC devices do not exist because there are no criteria actually describing what an OTC device is. It may still be a couple more years before the new category is actually drafted. More information regarding Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Legislation and Regulatory Action is available on the Academy website.
   
• Beginning January of 2019, Maryland residents with Medicaid will have hearing aids covered under their insurance plan. Prior to this change, Maryland Medicaid solely covered hearing aids for children birth- age 21. Although patients require referral by their primary care physician, the legislation specifically identifies audiologists as the hearing healthcare provider. WTOP recently published an article about Maryland Medicaid.  

Will you be at AAA 2019, March 27-30, in Columbus?  The conference has a lot to offer for new professionals including our annual session, Speak Up, Speak Out, an event designed to allow new professionals to meet, discuss, and hear from experts regarding a specific topic - this year’s topic is retirement planning. Don’t miss this event on Thursday, March 28, 1:30 - 3:00 pm in the Hyatt!

This is our continuing segment on highlighting new professionals and their career paths!  We’d like to introduce you to Jason Baker, AuD and Emily Jo Venskytis, AuD.

Do you have a new professional friend you would like to see us put in the spotlight next time?  Send us an email with your suggestion!

Check out our News Bytes section of the New Professionals web page.  We are releasing monthly articles about topics of interest to NPs and beyond.

• Cerumen Management
• CEU Breakdown: Tips and Tools to Track CEUs

That’s it!  You made it to the end of this newsletter and hopefully you learned something useful.  We would love to hear from you, please consider the following:

• • • Contact us
    • Answer two questions for us, ask a question of us
    • Visit the NP portion of the Academy website

We welcome your feedback! Please feel free to reach out.