ELKINS PARK, Pa. - The latest edition to the ever-expanding School of Audiology at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry is Terri Ives, Sc. D., an audiologist who most recently was the manager of clinical research at Sound ID in Palo Alto, Calif., helping to create the world's first Bluetooth™ mobile phone earpiece with Personalized Digital Sound.
This fall, the School will welcome its first residential Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) class-the first professional degree program in audiology in the country, to the Elkins Park campus. Dr. Ives will be responsible for the integration of electro-diagnostic and balance courses into the curriculum. Her areas of expertise are electro-physiology (testing those who can not respond behaviorally and evaluation of neurologic disorders, tumors and disease processes of the auditory system) and vestibular disorders (evaluation and rehabilitation of those with dizziness and balance problems). Dr. Ives will also be conducting research in the areas of auditory electrophysiology and vestibular testing and rehabilitation.
Dr. Ives is particularly drawn to the human aspect of treating balance disorders. "Dizziness is the third most common disorder physicians see-and people are very debilitated by it," Dr. Ives said. "Patients, on average, see four to five physicians before even getting diagnosed and then very few receive proper treatment. Audiologists of the future will be expertly trained to help people with balance disorders."
Prior to her time at Sound ID, Dr. Ives was the director of Diagnostic Audiology at the California Ear Institute at Stanford University, and was the chief of Audiology at the Hearing Institute for Children and Adults in San Jose, Calif. She received both her M.S. and Sc.D. in audiology from Boston University. But, Dr. Ives, though, traces her roots back to the plains of Wyoming.
"I was raised on a 23,000+ acre cattle ranch that my parents still work," said Dr. Ives. "I wouldn't say I'm a cowgirl any more, but I love the outdoors. I love to fish, camp and hike," and, laughing, "I am a Certified Country Western Dance Instructor, even though I prefer alternative rock music."
It was taking one audiology course as an elective at the University of Wyoming that made her change majors from pharmacy to audiology and switch schools. Dr. Ives transferred to Emerson College in Boston because of its strong program in pre-school hearing impaired children and its parent-centered approach for treatment.
Dr. Ives lives with her husband, Phillip, an audiologist, himself, and her three daughters, Heather, 14, Shelby, 9, and 15-month-old Cassandra. She is no stranger to the hardship of balancing a career and a family. "I went through my doctoral program having children and a full-time job. I was running on four hours of sleep a night."
When asked why she chose to leave the private sector to return to academia, Dr. Ives plainly responded, "I love teaching." She enjoyed teaching undergraduates as a graduate student and savored her time instructing medical school residents on their rotations, and with her scientific and research background, Dr. Ives was drawn to PCO's unique biomedical audiology program.
"The School of Audiology at PCO is building an audiology program the way it should be done," she said. "Students should have a good, solid basic science background that follows other professional doctoral programs. No other program is like ours. Our students will receive the scientific knowledge and extensive clinical skills that are necessary for a truly autonomous audiology professional. I know we will produce the best audiology doctors."
