ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

Collaboration Between Otolaryngologists and Audiologists Can Benefit Both

by Andrea M. Sattinger • September 1, 2007

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

Philip Mark Brown, MD’s audiologist coworkers keep him apprised of the current state of the art regarding the available battery of audiologic tests. “If we are considering purchasing or instituting [a product or service],” he said, “we meet as a group practice and our audiologists make an argument for or against it. They are key in keeping us abreast of what is going on in audiology. Everything is done in conjunction with the practice’s audiologists.”

You Might Also Like

  • Multispecialty Collaboration: Learning from Our Past to Shape Our Future
  • Multidisciplinary Initiative Seeks to Improve Treatment for Age-Related Hearing Loss
  • OTC Hearing Aid Legislation Offers Accessibility, But Raises Concerns
  • Otolaryngologists Concerned about Online Consumer Hearing Test
Explore This Issue
September 2007

Dr. Brown, who is a principal with Central Park ENT in Arlington, TX, speaks frequently to his audiologist colleagues, who work in the same suite of offices. “Most of the time audiologists are contractors and not part of the practice,” he said. “We felt very strongly that we wanted a totally integrated system where we work together on every single patient. Just today we have already got together four times to discuss patients.”

This is an example of the best kind of audiologist-otolaryngologist partnership, said Maurice H. Miller, PhD, Professor of Audiology in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at the Steinhardt School of Education of New York University. Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss, Meniere’s disease, tinnitus management, and cochlear implants are among the many disorders where collaborations between the audiologist and the otologist lead to superior and essential patient management.1–3

“I don’t understand [when people get caught up in politics] and this market share thing,” Dr. Miller said, “because sensorineural hearing loss at the present time is not surgically or medically correctable in the overwhelming number of cases. That clearly falls within the province of the audiologist. The audiologist is the specialist in amplification, fitting, dispensing, programming and reprogramming, whereas when we come to disorders of the middle ear or the outer ear, that is clearly within the realm of the surgical otologist. We work together; I see no conflict.”

Dr. Miller, who was the recipient of the 1996 American Academy of Audiology (AAA) career award for outstanding contributions to research, clinical practice, and teaching, routinely refers to surgical otologists those patients with otosclerosis who see him first and have surgically correctable conditions. “My strong preference is for surgical correction when indicated and my referrals through more than a half century of clinical practice confirm this,” Dr. Miller said. “Surgery would be my choice if I had otosclerosis with a large air-bone gap.”

The bottom line is that any political and financial concerns can interfere with patient care, said John K. Niparko, MD, the George T. Nager Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and Director of the Division of Otology, Audiology, Neurotology, and Skull Base Surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. “Viewing audiology–otology issues from a political perspective is the wrong approach and it only builds barriers between the specialties,” said Dr. Niparko.4 The political issues should be subjugated for the larger issues of patient care. “The issue is not taking patients from one another; literally 80 to 90 percent of the population who could benefit from our interventions don’t access it because of the lack of awareness,” he said. “The key thing is to focus on the patient. …Both specialties need to target ignorance and lack of awareness of [diagnostic and treatment] options, and it is my firm belief that everything else will flow from that.”

Pages: 1 2 3 4 | Single Page

Filed Under: Career Development, Otology/Neurotology, Practice Management Issue: September 2007

You Might Also Like:

  • Multispecialty Collaboration: Learning from Our Past to Shape Our Future
  • Multidisciplinary Initiative Seeks to Improve Treatment for Age-Related Hearing Loss
  • OTC Hearing Aid Legislation Offers Accessibility, But Raises Concerns
  • Otolaryngologists Concerned about Online Consumer Hearing Test

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Experts Delve into Treatment Options for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Weaning Patients Off of PPIs
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Podcasts Becoming More Popular Method of Education for Otolaryngologists
    • How to Embrace Optimism in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
    • Tips on How to Approach Conversations with Patients about the COVID-19 Vaccine
    • Steps You Should Take to Protect Your Voice and Hearing During Telemedicine Sessions
    • Routine Postoperative Adjunct Treatments Unnecessary for Idiopathic Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks

Polls

Have you spoken with your patients about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2021 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.