AAA 2019: Where Audiologists Discovered Their Future

By Erin L. Miller

This article is a part of the May/June 2019, Volume 31, Number 3,  Audiology Today issue.

On March 27–30, 2019, audiologists, audiology students, hearing health-care professionals, and industry representatives from across the country and around the world gathered in Columbus, Ohio, for AAA 2019, the Academy’s annual conference. Attendees had opportunities to learn from their audiology colleagues as well as experts in business, psychology, and science. They visited an exhibit hall where they could evaluate the newest technologies designed to assist them in their practice, and in the city labeled “one of the most exciting culinary scenes in the United States,” they had opportunities to reconnect and dine with colleagues and friends.

Wednesday

The inaugural Audiology Career Enhancement (ACE) Symposium: Interpersonal Communication Skills to Catapult Your Career, chaired by Sarah Sydlowski, AuD, PhD, was designed to help YOU, the professional. Participants heard from communications and business experts, and had hands-on opportunities to enhance the critical skills necessary to differentiate themselves. Symposium attendees now have the knowledge and skills necessary to create a competitive edge, allowing them to push the boundaries of their capabilities as a provider, colleague, and leader. They also had a ton of fun learning improv skills to help connect and establish the executive presence needed in today’s professional world. Thank you to ACE sponsors Audigy and Phonak for their generous support of this inaugural event.This year’s conference opened with a conference favorite and an exciting new offering. The 11th annual Academy Research Conference (ARC), chaired by Todd Ricketts, PhD, focused on Advances in Amplification. With hearing aids being the basis of management for patients with hearing impairment across the lifespan, Dr. Ricketts assembled a distinguished group of researchers to share their knowledge on topics including disruptive technologies, public policy regarding hearing loss and amplification, artificial intelligence in hearing instruments, and novel treatments for hyperacusis. The ARC lunch was sponsored in part by Phonak.

Five Learning Labs were offered on Wednesday morning that featured hands-on training for cerumen management, hearing aid verification, mindfulness-based tinnitus stress reduction, programming of cochlear implants, and vestibular head-impulse testing. Participants left these Learning Labs with the ability to immediately implement new skills when they returned to their practices on Monday morning.