FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2016

Harraseeket Inn, Freeport, Maine

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE & AUDIOLOGY: HOW OUR RESPONSES TO PATIENT EMOTIONS DIRECTLY IMPACT PATIENT OUTCOMES

Kris English, Ph.D.

HEARING AID TECHNOLOGIES: HOW FEATURES MAY IMPROVE TELEPHONE USE, SPEECH UNDERSTANDING IN NOISE, AND HOW PATIENTS FEEL ABOUT SOUND

Erin Picou, PhD.

Kris English, Ph.D.

Kris English is a Professor and an Interim School Director at the University of Akron/NOAC.  She has written numerous books and chapters, and has presented over 300 workshops and papers in the US, the UK, Canada, Europe, and Australia, primarily on the topic of counseling. She served 10 years on the board of the Educational Audiology Association (President in 1997) and 5 years on the board of the American Academy of Audiology (President in 2009-2010). She created and writes for a web forum called AdvancingAudCounseling.com, and welcomes submissions from students, faculty and practitioners.

Erin Picou, Ph.D.

Erin Picou is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She has been working in the Dan Maddox Hearing Aid Research Laboratory since she was an AuD student.  After completing her Ph.D. (also at Vanderbilt) she was hired to a research faculty position.  Her research interests are primarily related to hearing aid technologies for adults and children, with a specific focus on speech recognition, listening effort, and emotional responses to sound.  This work continues to be supported through a variety of industry and federal funding sources.  In addition to her research activities, Erin is involved with teaching and mentoring AuD students at Vanderbilt.  In addition, Erin is currently serving as an Associate Section Editor for Ear and Hearing.

Our Program:

Emotional Intelligence & Audiology: How Our Responses to Patient Emotions Directly Impact Patient Outcomes

Somewhere right now, a patient is saying, “I’m just not old enough to need hearing aids,” or a parent is saying, “It seems like my child hears enough without hearing aids.” The attentive listener will hear not only the words but also the underlying emotions, which might include shock, depression, or fear of stigma. But after hearing the emotion, what do we say in response? Our choices seem to be: ignore the emotion and move on, persuade the patient to feel otherwise, or address the emotion openly.  Evidence indicates our choice has power; it could make the difference in a patient’s decision to accept or reject our help.  

As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to:

1. Describe the relationship between our response to patients’ emotions and patient outcomes.

2. Name three counseling strategies designed to convey care within limited timeframes.

Hearing Aid Technologies: How Features May Improve Telephone Use, Speech Understanding in Noise, and How Patients Feel About Sound

Patients with hearing loss struggle to communicate in many situations, particularly when speech is degraded (e.g., over the telephone or in background noise).  These communication challenges are related to how many words a patient can understand and also how much cognitive energy, or listening effort, a patient needs to exert. In addition, hearing loss limits the happiness patients feel while listening. The combination of increased effort and limited reward increases the risk of social isolation and disconnectedness. Fortunately, amplification can help.  The focus of this presentation will be on the potential for hearing aid and cochlear implant technologies to address these consequences of hearing loss.

As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to:

1. Characterize the effects of directional microphones on speech recognition and listening effort for school aged children.

2. Describe the potential benefits and limitations of wireless streaming technologies for adult hearing aid users.

3. Discuss the effects of hearing loss and hearing aids on adults' emotional responses to sound.

    

PROGRAM

8:00 - 8:30 Registration

REGISTRATION

The registration fee includes meals, course materials, handouts and access to the vendor area. Cancellation refunds will be granted through the REGISTRATION DEADLINE of October 24th minus a $50 processing fee.

SILENT AUCTION

Once again, we are offering a silent auction for your enjoyment. This has been a crowd pleaser in the past, and we have lots of interesting items lined up again this year. Come prepared to support your Academies and BID HIGH. If you would like to donate an item to the silent auction please contact Mindy Hittle at mlhittle@ballstate.bsu.edu.

Maine Academy of Audiology has applied to the American Academy of Audiology to offer Academy CEUs for this activity. The program is worth a maximum of .55 CEUs. Academy approval of this continuing education activity does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products, or clinical procedures.

Please check our Facebook page for information on a pre-conference workshop and Thursday night social.

FOR ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR QUESTIONS, CONTACT CINDY HYMAN at hyman@gwi.net or 207-400-7937.