AuDacity 2021 - Agenda

The Professional Supervisor of the Audiometric Monitoring Program© (PS/A) Course is an intermediate-level, full-day course. It emphasizes the real-world application of audiology expertise as encountered in occupational settings. Lectures review the current literature and practice guidelines. Instructors present employee case studies for participant problem-solving, critical thinking and small-group discussion. Case presentations discuss PS responsibilities, guidelines for managing problem audiograms and determination of work-relatedness.

If you are struggling to feel relevant as an audiologist in this current disruptive environment (TPAs, OTCs, Big box), you are not alone. In fact, many of your co-members decided to make a significant change, a shift in their practices and in their protocols, by obtaining a certification through the CogniHear Program as a Cognitive Hearing Healthcare Specialist. The CogniHear program, developed by Dr. Heidi Hill and licensed by Entheos, is a 1.5 day course that will provide you with knowledge of the research regarding the role cognition plays in hearing, how to use that information clinically and how to test and treat ear-to-brain for better patient experience and outcomes.

This session will discuss why hearing health and audiologists are essential to the healthcare landscape and how the use of innovative technology and best practices allow audiologists to be successful in meeting the needs of patients in a competitive landscape. Au.D. students will learn how optimal patient-centered care is accomplished by considering the whole person and gain insight into the art of fitting hearing aids for the best possible outcomes.

The most serious consequences of COVID-19 are cardiovascular and respiratory system related, but it is not surprising this elusive virus has effects on the audio-vestibular system as well. This session will provide a review of current published research on the impact of COVID-19 on hearing health along with the most relevant evidence-based clinical practice recommendations to help Au.D. students understand how to accommodate the challenges imposed by this virus.

This session will discuss the ideal methods to establish your clinic as the premier audiology practice within your market. Various options to establish your personal brand and differentiate yourself as an Au.D. will be addressed in detail. Students will gain an understanding of the tools needed to create a long-term, successful, and prosperous practice.

This session will describe the concepts of unbundled, bundled, and hybrid pricing structures; assist participants in completing a financial analysis for whether TPPs are viable in the clinic; and explain the general concepts of aural rehabilitation from a business model modality.

This session will define what Online Reputation Management is and what social media sites are important to maintain in order to manage an online reputation successfully. St. Clergy will give examples of how customer service in-clinic can build trust so that the clinic as a whole can grow and sustain an exceptional online reputation, and explain how to ask for testimonials and use an online tool to ask for reviews.

This session will identify the key elements and framework for a HIPAA compliance program, including common practice vulnerabilities related to HIPAA security and privacy, HIPAA Security safeguards, and where to go to find the Code of Federal Regulations governing HIPAA Security.

This session will identify the Codes of Ethics to which audiology assistants are held and describe potential weak spots within which audiology assistants may find themselves within the context of ethics, as well as solutions for support. The nature and relationship of the audiology assistant’s scope of practice relative to applicable codes of ethics will also be discussed.

What is the difference between sympathy, compassion, and empathy? This session will identify the steps in an empathetic response and explain how to react to a patient’s emotional response with empathy.

This session will define the neurological phenomenon of “mirroring” and demonstrate how it works, and assist participants in building a strategy for creating strong relationships with patients, and shed light on several mistakes that assistants might unknowingly make that could detrimentally affect patient care.

Audiologists will join the Audiology Assistants for a roundtable discussion.

The time is now to expand your patient services with procedures that are part of your scope of practice. Do you wish you could feel more comfortable and confident working in the ear canal? Do you want to sharpen your skills of cerumen and foreign body removal? Do you want to learn about newer products for cerumen removal? Are you a new Doctor of Audiology that would like further training or to learn proper techniques to perform cerumen management? This educational and practical workshop will cover the anatomy and physiology of the outer ear, conditions of the ear canal, otoscopic examinations, properties and characteristics of cerumen, methods of cerumen management, and related issues such as liability, reimbursement, and state licensure. This is one of the only courses in the country that offers approximately two hours for workshop participants to actually use a variety of cerumen removal instruments and equipment. Join us to learn best practices for this important part of audiology services.

This workshop will outline the history, status and inherent shortcomings of the transactional/medical model of hearing care. It will focus on the necessity for providers to shift to a patient-centered relationship model that empowers our patients to make their own decisions about personalized treatment options that are best for them. At the heart of the patient-centered relationship is the understanding of personal styles for the provider and the patient and how the application of motivational interviewing can lead to collaborative ways that nurture patients’ perceptions in realizing what personalized plans of care can best meet their unique needs.

Let Audiology Resources help you navigate your pricing journey in an interactive, hands-on training event. Bring your data, a calculator, and an open mind and we will walk you through the process, step by step! You will leave this event with tangible takeaways!

This interactive seminar is for audiology practices interested in exploring the benefits of an audiology assistant as well as for those interested in structuring the role of their current audiology assistant to get maximum benefit. You will learn how to identify the need for an audiology assistant, how to hire or cultivate an audiology assistant from within your practice, and how to realize their value to you and your patients. Through audience participation and structured worksheets, you’ll be guided through a step-by-step, goal-oriented plan tailored to your practice needs. Throughout this seminar you will learn how to enhance the quality of patient care, manage your schedule to serve more people in your community, and significantly increase revenue.

Since COVID-19 struck, many businesses shuttered and some were even forced to close down. Traditional marketing has become stagnant and money is being thrown away in poor ad campaigns. This presentation will focus on newer out-of-the-box ideas to help grow your practice, for not only the rest of 2021, but looking forward to 2022 as well.

Dizziness, vertigo, and falls are among the most common acute and chronic complaints reported to physicians. It is estimated that 90 million Americans seek help for these conditions each year. In addition, co-morbidities of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, neurological conditions, and an aging population all contribute to a virtually limitless demographic of individuals seeking care.

The addition of neurodiagnostic vestibular evaluations within private practices can provide new sources of physician referrals, revenue, and insulation from the wide array of competitors in the hearing aid distribution landscape. Reimbursement for a comprehensive 75-minute evaluation is up over 20% in 2021 and should be strong for many years to come. This presentation will provide a systematic approach on how to create, implement and operate a profitable service within your existing four walls. A review of best practice protocols, instrumentation, patient acquisition, reimbursement, and building a referral network will be highlighted.

Are there hiccups in your claim submission process? Are you having repeated denials for claims? What is a diagnosis pointer and where does it go? This session will illustrate the required information to complete a clean claim in order to optimize and maintain a healthy practice’s cash flow.

This session will teach participants to identify and create a culture of engagement for all teams across their practices. Mr. Paolini will define the three behavioral elements of creating a culture of engagement and how to both inculcate those elements into your business and “live” them every day. He will also describe how creating a great culture will result in a great benefit to your practice by creating the best patient experience possible.

Adding any new service to an audiologist’s private practice offering requires extensive consideration of business growth and development requirements and opportunities while always focusing on obtaining the best possible patient outcomes. It is now well established that audiologists in a private practice setting can successfully integrate implantable hearing solutions, allowing providers to keep and attract patients, while developing partnerships in the medical community and tapping into an alternate revenue source for the practice. The purpose of this session is to review various considerations necessary to elevate this opportunity to the highest level for practice owners and patients alike.

Audiologists will join the Audiology Assistants for a roundtable discussion.

There are certain aspects of private practice business ownership that may seem overwhelming or just too challenging to explore. From our experience working with many private practice hearing care clinics, cash flow management can be one of the more challenging topics for business owners and those interested in pursuing ownership. Even if you have some level of comfort with business finances, do you ever ask yourself any of the following questions? What information should I be watching in my finances? How do I read cash flow statements? Is there a better way that I could manage my cash flows? Join us as we delve into the topic of cash flow management to help you understand and improve your ability to drive profit and business value.

Although TikTok is largely populated by teens, health care professionals have been increasingly using social media to share information, debate policy and practice issues, promote healthy behaviors, and interact with patients.

This session will guide attendees in finding the right job. We’ll start with an in-depth discussion of the current employment landscape in hearing healthcare. Additionally, we will help attendees understand the importance of creating their own unique brand and offer a detailed process on how to accomplish this. The process will include a “how-to” on projecting the traits and attributes employers covet throughout the hiring process. Finally, using deductive reasoning, we will demonstrate a methodology that attendees can use to figure out the environment and culture that represents their best fit.

Adding any new service to an audiologist’s private practice offering requires extensive consideration of business growth and development requirements and opportunities while always focusing on obtaining the best possible patient outcomes. It is now well established that audiologists in a private practice setting can successfully integrate implantable hearing solutions, allowing providers to keep and attract patients, while developing partnerships in the medical community and tapping into an alternate revenue source for the practice. The purpose of this session is to review various considerations necessary to elevate this opportunity to the highest level for practice owners and patients alike.

Describing lessons learned during a career spanning .com, .edu and .org across multiple countries and job environments, this presentation will speak to the opportunities audiology has to unleash itself to enable more people to hear better.

This symposium will use a rapid fire approach to address critical advocacy issues affecting audiologists and their patients. The results of the ADA Telehealth Survey will be presented, as will key updates related to proposed rules for OTC hearing aids, the Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act (MAASA) and Medicare expansion.

Dr. Victor Bray will deliver remarks to attendees regarding ADA’s recent achievements, current objectives, and a vision for the future. Exceptional audiologists will be recognized.

It can be said that the disability community is experiencing a revolution. Disability empowerment and pride are at an all time high as society witnesses unprecedented disability visibility in myriads of spaces –entertainment, corporate, government, publishing, and social media, just to name a few. What we are seeing is a drastic shift further away from the outdated medical model of disability, which defines disability as an illness and champions curing or at least managing the illness or purported intrinsic physical condition. However, lingering stereotypes and prejudices stemming from the medical model of disability are still in effect today, albeit now described with terms such as ableism and audism. Meanwhile, conversations have expanded beyond the confines of disability rights and equality to encompass disability justice and equity. Gordon will highlight noteworthy developments across the disability community and impart her perspectives, via her lived experience as a black, deaf woman, on why the audiologist profession ought to take note.

The ability to influence a consumer has changed radically and a new battleground has emerged. It’s not a battle of products and services but a battle of perceptions. Perceptions of consumers as to why and how to make the right choice for their hearing healthcare needs. This new world requires a new strategy to positively impact your practice while at the same time, positively impacting public health. Learn how to leverage new strategies, tools, and technology to expand practice influence, impact, and growth.

The ability to influence and impact a consumer has changed dramatically over the past few years and a new frontier is in view. The real opportunity for audiologists is not centered around selling more devices but delivering more care and service that is centered around health education, prevention, chronic illness screening and risk assessment. This session will focus on the expanded role that hearing professionals are well-positioned to play in the healthcare ecosystem along with the new tools, technology, and, most importantly, new mindset necessary to be successful.

Patient access to hearing healthcare sets the baseline for all patient encounters in pursuit of treatment. When a patient cannot access a clinician, it is impossible to receive care, build relationships with providers, and achieve proper treatments. Despite this importance, patient care access is not a reality for many patients across the country. This session will discuss the types of barriers that face many patients and provide bridges to overcome these obstacles.

This session will uncover insights from a recent research study and host a panel discussion on improving the patient journey. Uncertainty is a key emotion that can cause patients to forego, hesitate, or delay accepting hearing care. The provider panel will discuss ways they have successfully removed or minimized uncertainty, overcoming barriers, including the cost of care.

Many studies have found an association between untreated hearing loss, Alzheimer’s disease and other types of cognitive issues. These studies determine that patients with hearing loss are more likely to develop cognitive problems than people who do not have hearing loss. This session will discuss the importance of audiologists to identify potential cognitive decline and how to implement this in an audiology practice.

Audiology student teams will compete and showcase their business skills for a chance to receive a $5,000 ADA cash grant to be used to advance business objectives and enhance leadership skills. During the live event, each team will deliver a 10-minute presentation, which will be followed by a 5-minute Q&A (with some questions coming from the audience). Join us and cheer on the next generation of audiologists as they take their first steps toward private practice ownership.

With disruptions to hearing aid dispensing, the need to integrate audiology into the medical model and provide more value with evidence-based care is critical. Audiology has a wide scope. While audiologists have vast expert knowledge, many dispensing audiologists focus on the ever-changing technology and business landscape and may feel disconnected from ongoing research limiting their ability to provide differential diagnosis. Many yearn to be more thorough, yet it is overwhelming. Tools, tricks, and tests exist allowing an audiologist to provide more holistic care to their patients without needing to specialize. This presentation will implore dispensing doctors to focus on additional tools and diagnostic procedures to not only evaluate the entire person, but to use best practices and determine differential diagnoses. Each specialty within audiology will be discussed and particular tools will be identified so the audiologist can implement the procedure immediately and monitor outcomes.

Did the pandemic paralyze you or inspire you to move towards setting new goals and achieving them? A goal without a plan is just a wish and even a hobby. Let’s examine how we, as forward-thinking audiologists, can lead with a growth mindset over a fixed mindset. This presentation will introduce you to the process of appropriate goal-setting along with the strategy of taking ACTion to attain those goals.

Tinnitus is experienced by 50 million Americans and can be problematic or debilitating for many. Mindfulness Based Tinnitus Stress Reduction (MBTSR), has shown promise as an effective tool in managing tinnitus. A recent study assessed the effectiveness of an 8-week online MBTSR program during a pandemic using the Tinnitus Functional Index and Perceived Stress Scale. Statistically significant differences (i.e., self-reported improvement) were found between all of the measures and sub-measures between the pre, mid, and post time points. Results were maintained at 6 months follow-up. This seminar addresses the need to gain easy and inexpensive access to evidence-based effective tinnitus treatment from the privacy of one’s home, as it greatly reduces the pressures on audiologists and existing health care systems, which was found particularly helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Distribution channels in the hearing aid industry are changing. As more individuals purchase hearing devices through direct-to-consumer sites, retail dispensing channels and third-party hearing aid service providers, the medical community will continue to lose medical oversight of this population.

From a medical management perspective, getting a hearing aid does not provide a continuum of care necessary to mitigate lifelong issues associated with age related hearing loss and its progression. Recognition of comorbid events associated with Sensori Neural Hearing Loss (SNHL) suggests that current treatment protocols may not be identifying critical patient maladies. How might treatment protocols change for SNHL if audiology is to position itself as a primary driver of the medical management team for patients with SNHL?

In today’s evolving health care landscape, we will explore what a continuum of care might look like for SNHL and tools to help medical professionals manage this cohort of patients.

There are a large and growing number of patients needing evidenced-based audiologic care in rural areas. According to the 2016 US Census, there were 46.2 million adults over the age of 65, with 10.6 million living in rural areas. Research indicates as many as half of adults over the age of 75 will experience a hearing loss, while vertigo and/or dizziness may affect 70% of adults aged 65 or older, creating a growing need for specialty healthcare services. These staggering numbers present vital opportunities for audiologists to improve hearing and balance quality of life in rural areas. During this presentation, personal experiences will be shared to show how private practice audiologists can thrive in rural environments by working in a very specific field or to their full scope of practice, including hiring medical (ENT) support personnel. By the end, attendees will be optimistic and passionate to open a practice, or second location in under-served areas around the United States.

Documentation can serve many roles in healthcare. One is a means of communicating and coordinating care plans across many healthcare providers. Another is providing information to a patient and their family on their condition and how to best treat or manage their chief complaints. Yet another outlines medical necessity and provides evidence for third-party coverage. Documentation can protect healthcare providers in the event of malpractice suits, licensure complaints or audit. Finally, documentation and the resulting report can be a productive means of physician outreach and marketing. This workshop will focus on the keys to successful documentation in an audiology practice so we too can benefit from all of the opportunities documentation can afford.

A data breach and its consequences seem abstract and unlikely until it happens to you. Yet, most people have heard “it’s not if it will happen, but when” an incident will occur. How can audiologists prevent breaches and prepare to respond quickly and effectively to recover with minimal impact if an incident occurs? Learn how to proactively minimize the chance of costly downtime before a breach with free and affordable steps you can implement now, including an incident response plan. Discover how cyber insurance can mitigate some data breach risks and costs. In case a breach occurs, be prepared with specific actions to take, especially the 3 essential things you must do first. It’s the “Stop, Drop, and Roll” of cyber fires!

Tinnitus is an unavoidable condition in an audiology practice. While every audiologist does not need to be an expert in tinnitus care, every audiology practice can benefit from recognizing tinnitus presentation and making appropriate referrals to help adult and pediatric patients with tinnitus. This course will provide participants with the necessary concepts and tools to recognize tinnitus, uncover what the patient is experiencing and determine the appropriate referral to an outside provider. While this course will not teach participants to diagnose and care for patients with tinnitus, those wishing to engage in higher-level tinnitus care will find this course helpful in beginning to identify and triage various types of tinnitus.

This session will address why hearing care needs this new category of learning hearing aids, what the learning cycle is, how a learning hearing aid transforms the way we think about hearing care, and how it can be integrated into your practice.

Dr. Davis has developed a music-based auditory training program to promote better hearing and cognitive health based on five key benefits:

• Promotion of neuroplasticity
• Improvement of cognitive abilities and speech processing in noise processing
• Potential promotion of healthy aging in the brain
• Benefits for overall health
• Benefits of engaging in a rewarding activity

As the public has recognized the importance of cognitive health, brain training apps have become a big business. However, research has shown that users of these apps simply get better at the games in these apps; over time they show little if any real-world benefit. Dr. Davis’s program uses music as a form of training based on research that proves short-term music training creates life-long benefit. This presentation will summarize the neuromusical research and how it correlates with audiology, including ways to implement music training with patients immediately.

This interactive workshop will focus on illustrating the opportunities that exist, beyond hearing aids, for the profession of audiology. While many of these skills were taught in Au.D. programs, many audiologists have not integrated these services into their practices. Many of these services require little to no additional equipment, have a significant private pay component, can improve physician referrals and most importantly, influence patient outcomes, performance, satisfaction and perceptions of a practice.

Many hours are spent studying the various aspects of ethical principles and practices, to understand codes, guidelines, and related regulations. Rarely, however are professionals apprised of the processes of resolving unethical behavior or mitigating ethics issues. What process model is recommended when a professional observes a fellow clinician engaging in unethical behavior? How should one respond: should they themselves be accused of unethical practice? What processes do regulatory agencies and codes of ethics provide for professionals? This presentation will explore and outline the process of ethics resolution in cases where ethics codes may have been breached. This model will review and discuss resolutions at the lowest and most effective levels, while addressing the most egregious violations and the resolution interventions necessary for more serious concerns. Ultimately, the discussion will center around how resolutions can protect patients, clinicians, as well as the profession.

Three new CPT codes and reimbursement rates were established in 2021 for Cervical and Ocular VEMP. VEMP testing is not new and is a well-established, highly coveted diagnostic protocol, although it has not been widely used in the USA due to the absence of reimbursement. It is among the most sensitive, easy, and non-invasive protocols which can be performed on neonates to adults. The VEMP, although a myogenic potential, may be performed in less than 5 minutes using readily available Evoked Potential (EP) instrumentation. The presentation will highlight the anatomical and physiological pathways for Cervical and Ocular VEMP and the recording techniques for myogenic potentials. A comprehensive overview of the diagnostic applications for both Otologic and Neurologic disorders will be discussed, including; Migraine, Meniere’s, Brainstem Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, and Vestibular Neuritis. The AIB has utilized VEMP testing since 2003 and will present representative case studies.

Recently, traditional hearing aids have converged with consumer audio devices to create a new category of products, called hybrid devices. These devices offer persons with hearing difficulties the opportunity to improve communication and health-related quality of life. To fully realize the benefits of hybrid devices, however, it is essential for audiologists to understand the link between self-reported hearing difficulties and their impact on health-related quality of life outcomes. This course will review the relationship between self-reported hearing difficulties, contrast it with objective hearing loss of adult onset, and discuss its consequences on health-related quality of life outcomes. Several factors related to quality of life, including social, functional, physical and emotional aspects will be covered. Additionally, the course will review how quality of life factors can be assessed in the clinic and applied to the goal setting, treatment planning, and intervention process.

This interactive workshop will focus on illustrating the opportunities that exist, beyond hearing aids, for the profession of audiology. While many of these skills were taught in Au.D. programs, many audiologists have not integrated these services into their practices. Many of these services require little to no additional equipment, have a significant private pay component, can improve physician referrals and most importantly, influence patient outcomes, performance, satisfaction and perceptions of a practice.

Hearing aids purchased with private funds, directly from medical professionals, is the fastest shrinking distribution channel in the hearing aid industry. Across the nation, participation in 3rd party plans for hearing aids under Medicare Advantage plans is rising, and reimbursement rates are flatlining or declining. In the face of these trends, clinics can feel stuck reacting to their 3rd party insurance partners. The goal of this session is to look at proactive approaches your clinic can take to manage 3rd party contracts and optimize your margin per clinical hour.

Disabling auditory features are inherent in autism. Evidence from audiology, neuroscience, and neuro-developmental research all highlight the differences in how autistic brains filter and interpret sensory input. It is no surprise that listening difficulties and sound sensitivities are among the most commonly experienced. Complex, interdependent processing of the dynamic qualities of running speech can be particularly problematic, and presumably contribute to the large prevalence of speech and language delay in autism (being among the first noticeable signs). Screening and early intervention is pivotal in identifying and supporting children with any communicative disability. Audiologists are conspicuously absent from the team of go-to experts, however. How might we (individually or collectively) change the perception of audiologists as sensory end-organ diagnosticians into longer-term therapeutic care providers? Perplexing, considering the promising evidence base unique to our field.

The importance of speech audibility is well recognized in the literature for persons with hearing loss. What is less known are the physiological changes occurring in the upper auditory pathways associated with poor speech audibility in this population. This presentation will provide a step-by-step procedure for achieving and maintaining appropriate speech audibility and will describe further actions necessary to increase the likelihood of favorable cognitive, vocational and academic outcomes in both adults and children.