As our population ages, the healthcare system is under increasing strain. With access to primary care at an all-time low and waitlists for specialty care at an all-time high, physicians need help to manage the system. The system will have to change to meet these needs. Audiologists now have an opportunity to expand their role in healthcare by diagnosing medical conditions and directing patient care. This presentation will focus on sudden hearing loss and asymmetrical hearing loss, with an emphasis on improving audiology diagnostics and broadening the scope of practice. Attendees will learn how to diagnose and manage these conditions, as well as how to work collaboratively with physicians to provide better patient care.
Dr. Richard Balys
Update in Sudden and Asymmetrical Hearing Loss, a Collaboration of Audiology and Medicine
Dr. Richard Balys is a highly skilled Otolaryngologist - Head and Neck Surgeon with extensive experience in the field. After graduating from the University of Ottawa Medical School in 2001, he completed his residency training at McGill University in 2006. He has been practicing General Otolaryngology in Nova Scotia for the past 15 years and has made significant contributions to the field through his clinical practice, teaching, and research.
Dr. Balys is a lecturer at Dalhousie University and manages the community Otolaryngology training program at the institution. He is also the voting member for the Otolaryngology Specialty committee at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Dr. Balys has given lectures to family medicine on various topics, including assessment of the dizzy patient, identifying central causes of dizziness, chronic sinusitis, the sinus headache, dizziness, globus pharyngeus and reflux disease, management of the thyroid nodule, sleep apnea, tinnitus, and hearing loss.
Dr. Balys is currently involved in research with NovaResp and Dalhousie on alternatives to CPAP for the treatment of sleep apnea. He is also a part-owner of The Breath Factory. Dr. Balys focuses on resident teaching on oral pathology and vestibular physiology. While most of his working time is spent at Dalhousie, he also has a part-time office at East Coast Hearing in Bedford. Dr. Balys is highly regarded in the field and is known for his exceptional clinical skills, research contributions, and dedication to teaching.