Audiology Connections - 2022 - 24

AN OPTIMISTIC FUTURE FOR AUDIOLOGISTS
Seeing Pandemic Challenges as Creative Opportunities
What does the future of audiology hold
for professionals and patients? If, in
January 2020, we had been told that
the world would shut down due to a
pandemic, we would have thought the
idea crazy. On any given day, health
care professionals encounter barriers
when attempting to treat patients;
some barriers are new to the COVID-19
pandemic, whereas others have been
long-term challenges. As a privately
practicing doctor of audiology with
a master's degree in education of
the deaf/hard of hearing (DHH), I
have witnessed the challenges that
practitioners and individuals with
hearing and/or balance difficulties
have faced during the pandemic,
including their access to audiology
services. When COVID-19 first entered
our lives, many patients had difficulty
obtaining services. These challenges
were due, in part, to concerns about
virus transmission because of close
contact with loved ones and doctors,
but they were also due to clinician
access. Some audiology clinics,
whether private practice or within
a hospital or university, temporarily
closed their doors or were forced to
make staffing changes. Not only did
patients have difficulty getting the full
services they needed but providers
were furloughed or lost jobs, which
made the effort to obtain services even
more dire and difficult.
The pandemic may have launched
telehealth into a more widely used
means of patient treatment, including
teleaudiology, but the concept has
been trending in this direction for
years. Rural areas in the United States
have been utilizing teleaudiology due
to terrain, weather conditions, and
patients' limited accessibility to medical
professionals.
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As audiologists, we can either let
these challenges create barriers or
we can use them as motivators for
creativity that can allow our practices
to adapt and grow. The ability to
adapt-and to encourage our own
personal and professional growth-
makes teleaudiology both promising
and innovative.
Was the process of founding my own
practice scary? Absolutely! While my
children were attending live-streamed
school, I took courses and participated
in lectures through various educational
sources in our audiology world as
well as through the Maryland Small
Business Development Center (SBDC).
These courses included various howto's
(e.g., establish a business, develop
a business plan, apply for a business
loan) as well as courses on insurance,
finance, budgeting, bookkeeping,
website design, and search engine
optimization (SEO). The SBDC
assigned me a business counselor who
communicated with me regularly, gave
me " assignments " to establish a strong
business framework, and connected
me with necessary resources to launch
and continue my practice. If you
are interested in establishing your
own practice, I recommend ASHA
resources such as The ASHA Practice
Management Portal, ASHA Audiology
Practices and The ASHA Leader in
conjunction with contacting the SBDC
in your state to get more information.
Utilize all your free resources before
you start spending money. Putting
together your team of trustworthy
and gifted professionals to mentor
you through your business journey is
essential. When we do find mentors,
they are often individuals outside the
profession who need to be introduced
2022 AUDIOLOGY CONNECTIONS asha.org/aud
to audiology first. Once you establish
your plan and your team understands
your business model's needs, the sky is
the limit!
I am the founder, owner, and
head audiologist at A 2nd Ear; my
team and I studied the limitations
that the pandemic put on providers
and patients alike, collaborated
with other professions, developed a
plan, and, in April 2021, launched
a telehealth audiology practice to
overcome geographic boundaries,
health concerns, geriatric challenges,
and transportation limitations while
providing excellence in hearing and
balance care. We have worked with
hearing aid technology from most of
the major hearing aid manufacturers
in the world and have noted the
benefits and limitations associated
with such devices for both in-person
and teleaudiology care. This allows us
to predict challenges that our patients
may face before they happen. There
will always be problems that we need
to solve to put the smile back on our
patient's face or to see the look of relief
on the face of a patient's loved one.
Knowing the challenges and needs of
the patient and their loved ones allows
us to guide them to the technology that
will improve their lives. Isn't that why
we chose to be audiologists?
Modern technology now prevents
distance and physical limitations
from being barriers. Teleaudiology
allows us to counsel patients and their
families together, even if they reside
in different locations. Counseling is
key in our profession. We establish
realistic expectations and change
our techniques based on the needs
of our patients and their loved ones.
Patients can have their hearing
aid programmed in their own
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Audiology Connections - 2022

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