ASHA Voices

From University of Pittsburgh, audiologist Elaine Mormer and pharmacist Lucas Berenbrok say the forthcoming over-the-counter hearing aids could create new opportunities for both professions. They say it’s important for pharmacists to be able to spot hearing health “red flags.” Find out why, and how that help spurs more referrals to audiologists.

Gayla Poling, director of diagnostic audiology research at Mayo Clinic, joins the podcast to discuss ototoxicity and the role audiologists play in preventing and managing medication-related hearing loss, tinnitus, and vestibular issues.

Poling describes her work co-leading subgroups on aminoglycosides and cancer treatment as a part of the International Ototoxicity Management Group. The interprofessional group is addressing ototoxicity through publications, research, and collaboration.

This conversation was originally published in September 2021.

Often associated with race and socioeconomic status, health care disparities can have a devastating impact. The disparities affect everything from finances to health care outcomes.

Guests explain how the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn public attention to disparities in care that have always existed. And they say everyone has a role to play in confronting these inequities.

The promise of gene therapy is immense. But as today’s guest points out, so, too, are the challenges. Audiologist and molecular biologist O’neil Guthrie (Northern Arizona University) says the way gene therapy is discussed in the media and by the public may be setting unrealistic expectations for this pioneering therapy. He joins the podcast to explain why gene therapies can be so difficult to create.

More than two years into the pandemic, we are only beginning to learn about the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2. Those living with “long COVID” may experience multiple symptoms, including fatigue, shortness of breath, and brain fog.

Today on the podcast, we’re joined by Joel VanEaton (Broad River Rehab) and Mary Kennedy (Chapman University) to discuss what clinicians may need to know about the emerging population of patients with long COVID.

Plus we hear from Sarah Eastman, a speech-language pathology student who noticed unanticipated changes in her health after she thought she'd fully recovered from COVID. Hear how she says the experience has affected her approach with patients.

Tel Aviv University’s Karen Avraham joins the podcast to discuss her genetics research. She shares what it’s like to find hearing loss genes and how her discoveries may connect to the future of hearing loss treatment.

In our first of two episodes looking at gene therapy and hearing loss, we revisit two conversations with researchers at the forefront of this groundbreaking research. Hear updates on how their work has developed since these conversations first took place.

Boston Children’s Hospital’s Jeff Holt discusses an unexpected discovery that tied a specific gene to a genetic form of hearing loss. And Stanford University’s Tina Stankovic describes her investigations into diagnostics and therapeutics for sensorineural hearing loss.

SLP Cheryl Hersh (Mass General Brigham) discusses environmental and social factors that can hinder health care outcomes—social determinants of health.

Hersh works as a part of a team treating pediatric feeding disorder, and she shares how awareness of these aspects of patients’ lives, like food access and housing, can make a difference when it comes to health care outcomes.

She talks through what she’s learning and the specific ways she’s modified her care to be better informed by social determinants of health.

Our guests, SLPs Kyomi Gregory-Martin and Janna Oetting, join the podcast to discuss dialects, like African American English or Southern White English, in the schools. Their 2016 article “Changing How Speech-Language Pathologists Think and Talk About Dialect Variation” asks SLPs to alter this perspective on dialects to better serve children in the schools.

They share tips and advice for school-based SLPs and address the question: What do you do when the administration doesn’t understand your role?

When a child is having difficulty eating, it can take a toll on the entire family. The effect is immense, and it can create issues that affect the mind and body while spurring feelings of guilt in parents.

We’re joined by an interdisciplinary team from Children’s Wisconsin, a pediatric health center, for a discussion about the teamwork behind treating pediatric feeding disorder. Team members also share outcomes of their collaboration.