This inspiring webinar explores how the audiology profession can reclaim and expand its role as a primary healthcare provider for hearing and balance care. Guided by decades of progress—from the transition to the Doctor of Audiology (AuD) degree to the challenges of workforce shortages, policy barriers, and market pressures—the session offers a candid assessment of the state of the field today.
Participants will gain insights into:
- The historical milestones that shaped audiology and why the AuD was only a starting point, not the destination.
- The urgent need to shift from a product-centered to a patient-centered model of care—anchored in comprehensive diagnosis, evidence-based treatment, and lifelong management of hearing and balance disorders.
- How policy change, including achieving Medicare Limited Licensed Practitioner (LLP) status, can align the profession’s legal and economic standing with its expertise.
- The critical role of independent practices, professional unity, and academic modernization in advancing autonomy and visibility.
- Stories of advocacy and leadership that demonstrate the power of collective action to influence healthcare systems and policy.
Through a compelling narrative that blends vision, personal reflection, and calls to action, this webinar challenges audiologists at every career stage—students, clinicians, educators, and leaders—to step into their shared responsibility for shaping the future of the profession.
Key takeaway: Autonomy in audiology is not granted; it is built—through evidence, unity, advocacy, and innovation.