[NEW BRIGHTON, MN, May 7, 2021] – Audiology Practice Standards Organization (APSO) has published its second audiology standard, for fitting hearing aids to adult patients. The standard, S2.1 – Hearing Aid Fitting Standard for Adult and Geriatric Patients, is APSO’s second published standard since beginning operations in 2018. This standard documents the professional work audiologist perform to determine candidacy, select, fit, verify and follow-up with adults patients receiving hearing aids. It may be viewed and downloaded at https://www.audiologystandards.org by visiting the Current Standards page.
All APSO standards are developed by a group of audiologists who are experts in the area of hearing aid fitting and are subject to second panel review, public comment, and further review by legal and ethics advisors prior to final approval and publication. According to 2021 APSO President Tish Gaffney, AuD, “This standard represents months of hard work by no less than a dozen published experts in hearing aid fitting. We are extremely grateful to everyone who participated in this tremendous effort. We are very proud to bring this long-awaited standard to the profession of audiology and those interested in the high level of care provided by audiologists fitting hearing aids.”
APSO is currently beginning work on additional practice standards for audiologists. Dr. Gaffney continued to note that “APSO spent considerable time and effort in the first year of operation to develop a rigorous process of standards development that includes multiple SME groups and universal review by audiologists. This ensures that everyone in the profession has the opportunity to comment on the standard before final publication. I hope that all audiologists will look for standards to be opened for review and provide their own insight and expertise to each and every standard that is within their area of practice.”
APSO acknowledges the exceptional contribution of each subject matter expert (SME) who participated in development of this standard. Two groups of SME volunteers are recruited for all APSO standards. Those volunteering to develop the adult hearing aid fitting standard include:
DEVELOPMENT GROUP: Jason Galster, PhD; Cynthia Hogan, PhD; Lindsey Jorgensen, AuD, PhD; Ryan McCreery, PhD; Gus Mueller, PhD; Erin Picou, PhD
VERIFICATION GROUP: Douglas Beck, AuD; Joscelyn Martin, AuD; Christine Ulinski, AuD; Trent Westrick, AuD
Audiology Practice Standards Organization is a non-profit professional organization founded for the purpose of developing and maintaining practice standards in the profession of audiology. Standards are developed by recognized subject matter experts in the subject area of each standard and are subject to review and comment by all practicing audiologists. Those participating in standards development do not need to have any affiliation, including membership, with APSO. APSO standards are intended to represent universally accepted standards of practice by audiologists, as described in peer-reviewed literature. All APSO standards are freely accessible to audiologists and the public. For more information about APSO or to view any standard, visit https://www.audiologystandards.org
