A few years ago when I went to a local music venue to hear the band, Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, a very memorable scene played out on stage. After playing for a few hours with the full band — guitars, drums, bass, even a pedal steel guitar — the singer settled into some quieter, softer music, just Adams and his piano. The ...

Our editorial mission focuses so strongly on practice management that it can be easy to glance over the real-life effects of the hearing health conditions that are at the core of everything we do. This thought recently screached into my conscious when I heard this NPR report on tinnitus. At random points in the ...

We are headed into what I like to refer to as the home stretch of the semester. Accordingly, I always create a Word document around this time frame called Home Stretch, which includes an all-encompassing to-do schedule. More often that not, it ends up longer than most of the papers I write for class. I suppose this is my best attempt at ...

I have officially started my new practicum placement at the VA hospital in North Little Rock. This placement also doubles as my assistantship, allowing for hourly pay and, more importantly, more practicum hours. In any given week, I may log 16-20 hours of practicum, which is solid for a third-year student. I was told that I would get more ...

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) issued a news release this week stressing the importance of consumers seeing a hearing health practitioner before purchasing hearing aids. Noting the increasing availability of options for purchasing hearing aids online, the state agency cautioned that hearing aids are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug ...

The Better Hearing Institute issued a news release this week warning consumers of the inherent risks associated with purchasing over-the-counter, one-size-fits-all hearing aids instead of consulting a hearing healthcare professional. BHI supports this claim by stating that hearing loss is sometimes a symptom of a serious underlying medical ...

Earlier this week we launched our newest specialty site, specifically focused on the products and services that help you to provide excellent patient care and operate a profitable practice. As one might expect, we're calling it the Hearing Practice Management Products & Services Resource Center. At the top of the Products & Services site ...

Our most recent feature story (''In the Loop,'' by Rob Senior) profiles Ed Ogiba, the president of the Hearing Loss Association of Sarasota, and his effort to create an expansive network of hearing loops in public places. In reading this article, I was fascinated by Mr. Ogiba's passion for the cause and how uniquely positioned he ...

I remember being shocked when I learned that hearing aids are not covered by Medicare and most private insurers. I immediately thought of my parents and older relatives--particularly my Aunt Mitzie. It's a light-hearted family joke that you have to repeat everything three times, and each time at a higher volume, to get her attention. Her ...

While not completely official, it looks as though I wrapped up the final semester of my first year as an AuD student with a 4.0 GPA (3.8 overall). For lack of a better phrase, I'll take it! Most importantly, I believe that my clinical skills are up to par enough to work off campus, at least for a newly beginning second-year student. The courses ...