This course is offered for up to 1.3 ASHA CEUs (Various level, Professional area)

William Dickinson, AuD
Assistant Professor, Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Even though real ear measurements (REM) have long been accepted as the gold standard for the fitting and verification of proper hearing aid function, there have been continued reports of inconsistent use. Such data focuses exclusively on using REM to facilitate a proper match to the prescriptive target of the individual patient. Often overlooked, is the opportunity to utilize REM equipment to verify and demonstrate the effective function of advanced hearing aid features, hearing aid accessories and various hearing assistive technologies. Such verification measures are not restricted to the application of prescriptive targets, but rather are objective measures to demonstrate the effectiveness of advanced signal processing, specialized hearing aid features or verify proper function of accessories and assistive devices. It has been demonstrated that utilizing real ear measures beyond a prescriptive target match will improve the overall success and outcomes of the traditional hearing aid fitting process, as well as improve the compliance rate of patients accepting recommended hearing aid accessories and/or assistive devices. This presentation will provided meaningful real-world strategies using non-traditional REM techniques to improve the final outcomes for the selection, fitting and fine-tuning of hearing instruments and assistive technologies. CEU: 0.2

Coding, Reimbursement and Practice Management Issues:
Positioning for the Present and the Future?

Deb Abel, AuD
Director of Reimbursement and Practice Compliance
American Academy of Audiology

With a perfect storm of continued decreases in codes per the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, an unstable economy, increased competition from many venues, the bundling of our services, and many hearing aid contracts that are not all beneficial, considerations for practice stability will be discussed for capturing reimbursement to enable quality hearing care. CEU: 0.2

Wendy Robertson, MD
Senior Staff Neurologist
Henry Ford Health System

Lylas Mogk, MD
Director, Center for Vision Rehabilitation and Research 
Henry Ford Health System

The audiologic symptoms of presbycusis are well known to our profession. This presentation will provide insight on how aging also impacts vision and the nervous system. Common pathologies such as age-related macular degeneration, dementia, Parkinson Disease, essential tremor and stroke, will be discussed. Similar to hearing, deterioration of these systems causes functional and psychosocial difficulties. These changes can make audiologic evaluation difficult and contribute to patient dissatisfaction with amplification. Intervention and treatment strategies focused on maximizing patient satisfaction and independence will be shared. CEU:0.3

Update on Middle Ear and Cochlear Implants

Brad Stach, PhD
Director, Division of Audiology 
Henry Ford Health System

Teresa Zwolan, PhD
Director, Cochlear Implant Program
University of Michigan Medical Center

Technological advancements have substantially impacted the opportunities available for delivering sound to the ears of patients with moderate to profound hearing loss. This session will provide an update on implantable technologies, including semi-implantable and totally implantable middle-ear implants and cochlear implants. Outcomes for adults and children will be presented, including a discussion of factors impacting performance, such as age at implant, residual hearing, auditory neuropathy, and other disabilities. An overview of current and future technology will be reviewed as well as guidelines for when to refer an adult or child for evaluation. CEU:0.3

Yehoash Raphael, PhD
Professor Kresge Hearing Research Institute
University of Michigan

Currently, medical treatments for patients with severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss are limited. Hearing aids and cochlear implants provide users with greater access to sound by working within the impaired system. Biological therapies have the potential to reestablish cochlear function. There are different approaches currently being developed to restore function or replace missing hair cells including hair cell regeneration, stem cell transplantation or implantation of cells similar to hair cells. More radical approaches involve tissue engineering of the auditory nerve to essentially bypass the hair cells. While there are many hurdles that need to be overcome and none of these approaches is likely to yield completely normal hearing, the potential exists to provide patients with profound hearing loss improved hearing which may be similar or better than cochlear implants without the need for external equipment. This presentation will provide an overview of current research in this exciting area. CEU:0.2

“Practicing” Hearing Loss Prevention

Deanna Meinke, PhD
University of Northern Colorado

New technologies exist for measuring individual noise exposures and determining hearing protector effectiveness by establishing personal attenuation ratings (PARs). These techniques are easily implemented in a variety of practice settings and offer opportunities for long-term revenue streams and marketing alternatives. For example, educational audiologists can measure the noise exposure of students, private and clinical practice audiologists can measure the noise exposure of their patient and then dispense and fit earplugs and/or earmuffs specific to the exposure, hospital-based audiologists can offer preventive and monitoring services for operating room and emergency personnel. Successful audiology practice management requires responsible fiscal rationale and practical justification for adding new or enhanced audiological services. Therefore, this session will review these new technologies, applicable CPT codes and revenue considerations. Preventive services will be in greater demand in the future. From a public health perspective, audiologists are essential to the successful prevention of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and tinnitus throughout the lifespan. Each of you are uniquely positioned to implement and expand hearing loss prevention services and revenue streams within your practice setting and move our profession well beyond the traditional regulatory compliant, industrial hearing conservation service delivery model. CEU:0.2

Pediatric Hearing Loss: What Your ENT is Thinking

Marc Thorne, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Pediatric Otolaryngology
University of Michigan Medical Center

A complete otolaryngology evaluation of a child with hearing loss can provide valuable information to family members and audiologists. This session will go beyond PE tubes and hearing aid clearance to increase your understanding of the role of the otolaryngologist. The recently released Michigan EHDI “Otolaryngologic Evaluation of Infants with Hearing Loss” will be reviewed. The rationale for various components of this document will be discussed along with case presentations to illustrate their utility. Other otologic diseases prevalent among children will be shared along with factors which may influence recommendations for medical intervention. CEU:0.2

Amy McConkey Robbins, MS
Communication Consulting Services

How do professionals sustain the energy to do their rewarding yet often exhausting jobs? Persons in the serving professions, including audiologists, speech-language pathologists, teachers, and physicians, are widely acknowledged to expend tremendous emotional energy during their daily work. These professionals often report that, while they find gratification in their jobs, they also have difficulty “getting away” mentally from the workplace, finding the balance between work and home, and dealing with the conflict that often arises between colleagues and/or between professional and parent (Novak, 2003.) As noted educator Parker Palmer has written, “Those in professions where people give their heart must also be encouraged to find ways to take heart, so that their passion and energy for their profession is renewed” (1999). This presentation will provide acknowledgement and encouragement, along with practical suggestions to prevent burn-out and encourage work/life balance. Participants will be introduced to self-care techniques that address “compassion fatigue.” CEU:0.2

Devin McCaslin, PhD
Associate Director of Audiology
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Improving Productivity & Quality in Your Practice

Brian Taylor, AuD
Director of Practice Development & Clinical Affairs
Unitron

Maintaining a high level of productivity while providing quality care are the cornerstones of any successful practice. This course will examine three key drivers of productivity and quality and discuss tools and tactics to improve both. Relying on data collected in a comprehensive survey of over 300 audiology practices in the US (Hearing Journal, Sept, 2009), this course will provide a profile of the typical practice. Participants will also learn how effective management of productivity and quality directly impacts patient satisfaction, operational profitability and long term success. CEU:0.3