2019 NHCA Annual Conference

A sound booth has long been the standard equipment needed to conduct audiological examinations, requiring substantial square footage and a trained on-site audiologist. But within the last 10 years, several companies have worked towards developing novel strategies to bring hearing assessment out of the booth, making services more accessible, while increasing efficiencies. Additional requirements within specialty populations and markets, including foreign and domestic militaries as well as U.S. Veterans, add specialized capabilities to the list of acceptable solutions. With developers rushing to meet these needs, it has become increasingly difficult to keep up with the ever-evolving technological landscape. Moreover, recognizing the growing investment in this field, it is essential to develop frameworks that can be used by decision makers to assess the potential value of innovations in the field, from an early stage of their development. This will help accelerate their uptake and adoption into hearing services. This workshop will be comprised of four parts: 1) an overview of military, Veteran and civilian requirements driving development; 2) the current summary of technologies available as matrixed to meet those requirements; 3) presentations from participating boothless audiometry developer representatives; and 4) hands-on demonstrations to allow participants the opportunity to become familiar with each device.