By James W. Hall III
This article is a part of the September/October 2018, Volume 30, Number 5, Audiology Today issue.
The American Academy of Audiology was founded on the assumption that audiology needed an independent professional organization or, as Academy founder and first Academy president James Jerger famously stated: an organization “of, by, and for audiology.”
Creating a Professional Organization
Soon after the Academy was formed in 1988, early leaders established a variety of organizational entities essential for any independent health profession. The creation of the publication Audiology Today fulfilled the need for a forum for regular communication among members. Later, a website (audiology.org) augmented communication and offered easy access for members and the public to important and timely audiology information, including a membership directory and clinical practice guidelines.
Like other health professionals, audiologists and hearing scientists require a vehicle for the publication of peer-reviewed papers and the dissemination of original research findings. The Journal of the American Academy of Audiology (JAAA) was created in 1989 to meet that vital professional need. The new organization even opened an “audiology store” with a diverse inventory of items, from colorful diagrams of the ear and audiograms of familiar sounds to educational brochures and Academy clothing, coffee cups, and water bottles.
Within two years after the Academy began, the Board of Directors founded the independent nonprofit American Academy of Audiology Foundation (AAAF) to “promote philanthropy in support of public awareness, research, and education in audiology and hearing and balance sciences.”
The autonomous American Board of Audiology (ABA) was created in 1998, a decade after the beginning of the Academy. The ABA “...creates, administers, and promotes rigorous credentialing programs that elevate professional practice and advance patient care. ABA credentials are earned by all leading audiologists, respected by other health-care providers, and trusted by patients.” As part of its work, the ABA conducted a formal and rigorous analysis of clinical practice and launched specialty certification programs in cochlear implants and pediatric audiology, as well as an audiology preceptor and a tinnitus management certificate program.
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