Interview with Scott Austin President of the International Hearing Society
AO/Beck: Hi Scott. It's nice to speak with you.
Austin: Hi Doug. Glad to speak with you too.
AO/Beck: Scott, why don't we start with a little about your professional background?
Austin: Sure, that's fine. I discovered the hearing aid profession about 18 years ago while I was in college and redirected my focus. I haven't looked back since.
AO/Beck: How did you discover the hearing aid business?
Austin: I was introduced to the business through a relative, Ken Brooks. I was working four jobs, volunteering as a basketball referee, going to school and engaged to Ken's niece. Ken said You ought to get into the hearing aid business, it's a wonderful profession and you can go to school while working. So to make a long story short, I was hired by Paul Willoughby, a pioneer in the business and he became my mentor for the next 15 years. After a short two year leave to work for a manufacturer, I have come full circle and am today the general manager of the business Paul founded 52 years ago.
AO/Beck: Scott, how long have you been involved with the politics of the hearing aid industry and the hearing healthcare professions?
Austin: I originally got involved with politics about 14 years ago at the state level with the Oregon Hearing Society and as you can imagine I was involved with the state exam and the licensing board, and of course legislative issues, and from there I was introduced to the International Hearing Society (IHS).
AO/Beck: Scott, please tell me how many members are in IHS, and how long has IHS been around?
Austin: The IHS has existed for 51 years, as we celebrated our 50th anniversary last November in Chicago, IL. We have about 3000 members, and about 500 of those joined in the last year or so, and so we're really experiencing fantastic growth. Probably about 20 percent of our members are audiologists, and a majority are Board Certified Hearing Instrument Specialists. Moreover, we have 56 affiliate chapters and represent thousands of additional hearing aid specialists worldwide.
AO/Beck: What is it about IHS that attracts so many members?
Austin: Education is very high on the list because we offer the best courses for dispensers directly related to hearing aid topics. Additionally, we offer distance education opportunities; the Audioprosthology program and endorse both Spokane Falls Community College and Arkansas State University-Mountain Home who both offer a two-year degree program for Hearing Instrument Specialists.
But first and foremost, IHS is the only organization who protects the rights of hearing aid specialists and most important, those they serve, the hearing impaired in the regulatory arena at both the federal and state/provincial levels.
AO/Beck: I guess I should know this, but I'm not sure. Does IHS provide the licensure examination for some of the states?
Austin: Yes. The IHS provides the hearing aid licensure examination for 35 states and two Canadian provinces.
AO/Beck: What's involved in obtaining the Board Certification?
Austin: The Board Certification is very comprehensive. It is not an entry-level program as it requires two years of practice before the practitioner can take the examination, so it's an advanced certification. The examination covers anatomy, physiology, professional relations, office management, patient care, and of course, it also covers electro-acoustic analysis of hearing aids and related topics such as Real-Ear testing.
I should clarify that the IHS is not the actual group that issues the BC-HIS. The BC-HIS is issued by a separate accrediting body, which is the National Board for Certification in Hearing Instrument Sciences (NBC-HIS), they are the certifying group.
AO/Beck: Scott, if I had the BC-HIS designation, are there third party payers who I would be able to work with, that I am excluded from working with without BC-HIS?
Austin: Yes, There are some insurance providers that recognize BC-HIS holders as preferred and reimbursed hearing aid providers.
AO/Beck: What does the short-term future look like for the BC-HIS holders?
Austin: It really looks good! Over the next year or two you'll see a big push to further separate the NBC-HIS from the IHS. As you can imagine, for the NBC-HIS to maintain it's objectivity and it's stature with the accrediting agencies, it's in everyone's best interest for the two to be separate and distinct.
AO/Beck: Scott, as you know, turf battles and in-fighting are unfortunately, not rarities! What are your thoughts on the relationships between audiologists and traditional dispensers?
Austin: Doug, I think we basically need to promote better hearing healthcare, professional education and we need to work together. We're happy to work with ASHA and AAA whenever we can. I know you have been a vocal proponent of inclusion for all three hearing healthcare professionals (dispensers, ENTs and audiologists) and I agree that is the best approach to serving the hearing impaired. Our task is to serve the patients, and when we do that maximally, all the other issues become trivial. We need more audiologists and more dispensers to just handle the current load of patients, let alone the baby-boomer tidal wave coming down the pike! We clearly need more professionals, and we need them quickly. In fact, the IHS Board just approved a new program, the Professional Education Plan for Hearing Instrument Specialists (PEPHIS), a five and ten year plan for dispensers entering the field. PEPHIS is not designed to match or even compete with audiology, but instead to better educate dispensers to ensure maximum quality service to the hearing impaired.
AO/Beck: Scott for the readers who want to learn more about the IHS and related topics, what is the website address please, and the toll free phone number?
Austin: The website is at www.ihsinfo.org and the toll-free number is 1-800-521-5247.
AO/Beck: Scott, thanks so much for your time. I know you've got a terrifically busy schedule, and I thank you for your time today.
Austin: Thank you too Doug. You guys are doing a great job leading hearing healthcare professionals onto the Internet and making tons of information available to the patients too.
AO/Beck: Thanks Scott. Let's plan on doing this again.
Austin: Absolutely, I'll look forward to it.
