Transcript

Welcome back to the All About Audiology podcast. I’m your host Dr. Lilach Saperstein and this is the All About YOU mini episode. In the last full episode, episode 9, we talked all about your child’s hearing test and the different ways we test children of varying ages, some tips for preparing for your appointment.

On my instagram @allaboutaudiologypodcast I posted some photos and videos about the VRA equipment that we talked about- the toys in light up boxes we use for younger toddlers. I love connecting with you listeners on instagram. I connected with a fellow audiologist from Ireland -Hi Rhea! Great connecting with you. We chatted about the ways audiology services are delivered in different countries. For example, hearing aids are covered for free up to age 18 in Ireland. Rhea works with adults in the private sector now, but told me she is interested in educational audiology because one of her lecturers was a teacher of the Deaf for many years before joining the university and shared a lot about that amazing work.

That’s very interesting to me because I worked as an educational audiologist in a school for the Deaf in New York and I learned so much during that time. Working with children of all abilities, and programming and maintaining the school equipment which included hearing aids and classroom FM systems. I also did troubleshooting for students’ cochlear implants, ordered parts and was in touch with their clinical audiologist.

My favorite part of working in that school was the implementation of an interdisciplinary approach, meaning all the different professionals were always in touch with each other, the different therapists, school administrators, medical professionals and of course the family- all with the child at the center.

Being part of the team is one of the things I love about being an audiologist. And this goes for when I’m working with children, but also when I work with adults; I interact with their family member who came with them to the appointment, sometimes a health aide, or their primary care physician or ENT. Seeing the patient as a person with a life, and communication needs- and various people and professionals who are there for them.

You can take a look at an article I wrote on this topic in the Blue Umbrella Magazine. You can find the link in the show notes or at the transcript on allaboutaudiology.com . It’s important for all of us to remember that when you have a child with a hearing loss, you are the leader of the team, you create the system. The ecosystem of support and services with your child at the center.

I’ve also created a free handout where you can have all the different people on your team with their contact information and their role. Again, check that out on the website.

We also have a facebook listener group– so feel...