Audiology Today
January / February 2021
ONLINE FEATURE | Labeling COVID-19’s Long-Term Effects—What’s the Diagnosis?
This article addresses and defines the language associated with COVID-19 and reports on the attempts being made to establish appropriate medical terminology as it pertains to COVID-19 patients who are still experiencing medical issues for weeks and even months after the diagnosis.
ONLINE FEATURE | COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System
This article reports on how health-care professionals and/or consumers can report any adverse reaction (also referred to as a side effect by some sources) they believe might have resulted from one of the COVID-19 vaccines being used to fight the current pandemic in the United States (as of January 24, 2021).
ONLINE FEATURE | Deaf Firefighter Perseveres with Dedication Amid 2020 Challenges
Amy McClure has been a California firefighter for 10 years. She is also deaf and uses bilateral cochlear implants. Learn more about how she manages her hearing loss on the job and demonstrates, amid all the challenges we faced over the past year, one can persevere with hard work, persistence, dedication, and kindness.
ONLINE FEATURE | COVID-19 in Cerumen—A Potential Source of Viral Spread of Patients Infected With SARS-CoV-2
Despite limited published research, there is some emerging evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus or COVID-19 can be found in the cerumen in about a third of newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients. Whether traces of the virus will be present in ‘long-haulers’ is still unknown and open for additional research.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE | Professional Plasticity
The incredible power of neuroplasticity and changes that occur in brain pathways due to auditory stimulation and life experience is fascinating, as are the changes in neural pathways and brain processing with decreased auditory input after one sustains a decrement in auditory peripheral function.
Individualized Education Programs? Not Just for School-Based Audiologists
Audiologists from private and public non-school-based practice settings describe their experiences supporting students in their education settings, including participation in assessments and providing IEP services to ensure audiological, communication access, and educational needs are met.
Remote Learning During the Pandemic for Children with Hearing Loss
Audiologists and school personnel serving students with hearing loss are facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the dramatic changes to students’ learning environments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When AuD Students Encounter Bigotry From Patients, Preceptors Must Become Allies
Bias from patients will assuredly harm the person targeted. When the target is a student, the preceptor has a duty of care to intervene.
Audiology Fee Schedules: What We Can Learn from the Medicare Database
The purpose of this article is not to suggest a standard set of fees for audiology practices. Just the opposite. All clinics have unique financial needs such as different rent, overhead, and salaries. The importance is understanding these differences and accounting for them with revenue and pricing strategies.
ON TREND | How to Choose the Right Real-Time Captioning Methods for Greater Accessibility
Real-time captioning for smartphones and computers can improve accessibility for many with hearing loss.
CODING AND REIMBURSEMENT | CPT Coding Changes for 2021: Auditory Evoked Potentials and Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials
The American Academy of Audiology (the Academy), together with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), continuously reviews the CPT code set applicable to audiologists. The goal is to ensure that audiologists have appropriate codes to report that accurately describe and reflect the services they perform for patients.
AUDIOLOGY ADVOCATE | The Road Ahead in 2021: Challenges and Opportunities
The year 2020 brought with it many surprises and challenges across the health-care landscape. As 2021 begins, the Academy is actively engaged with several legislative and regulatory initiatives to safeguard and advance the profession of audiology.