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Abstract: 

Today, the audiologist’s scope of practice is to prevent, diagnose, and treat hearing and balance disorders. Tomorrow, the role of the audiologist will be to provide preventive care and holistically manage patients who present with auditory and vestibular dysfunction. Intrinsic to the holistic management of patients is embracing the knowledge that hearing and balance disorders often do not occur in isolation but are symptoms of bodily disease. As part of the changing nature of the profession of audiology, audiologists must transition from treating ear disease as an isolated event to an interprofessional collaborative-care model of treating the patient’s physical, mental, and behavioral health. Supporting this transition of the profession, this session will discuss the nature of metabolic syndrome, the association between metabolic syndrome and chronic disease, chronic diseases comorbid with hearing and balance disorders, physiological and psychological consequences of untreated hearing loss, and the evidence base for treatment effects associated with audiological intervention. Note: Participants are invited to bring copies of the patient history forms they use as a part of their patient intake process.

Learning Outcomes: 

Learning objectives: Upon completing this course, attendees will be able to...

  1. Recall the criteria for a metabolic syndrome and the most significant, related chronic diseases in the population,
  2. Comprehend ‘odds ratio’ and apply odds ratio data in evaluating the significance of chronic diseases with respect to hearing and balance disorders,
  3. Analyze the patient’s health records (case history) for the presence of comorbid chronic diseases that are of importance in the treatment of the audiology patient.

Victor Bray

Comorbidities and Collaborative Care in the Audiology Patient

Dr Victor Bray has a 40+ year audiology career including clinical services, R&D with clinical trials of new amplification devices, and senior administration in industry and academia, all of which have been supported with extensive presentations and publications. He is a tenured Associate Professor and former Dean of Salus University Osborne College of Audiology. His current research interests include comorbidities in audiological medicine and the expanding and important role of audiology in public health.

He was a three-time President of the Scott Haug Foundation, the founding Chair of the Audiology Academy within the National Academies of Practice, and recent President of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology. His contributions to the profession have been recognized as a Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy by NAP, with HIA’s Volunteerism Award, the ADA’S Wernick and Goldstein Awards, the UT-Austin Alumnus of the Year Award, and the Salus University Presidential Medal of Honor.

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