Talking Ears

ATA Panel Discussion - Tinnitus Today Article

Talking Ears co-host Juan Vasquez, AuD, wrote an article for the American Tinnitus Association (ATA) publication, Tinnitus Today, titled "Hitting the Right Note at the Kentucky State Fair: ATA and Texas Roadhouse Team Up to Advance Hearing Conservation Among Music Professionals" which was published this week.
To help us unpack the title, the origin story, the experience at the Kentucky State Fair, and the plans for the future of this exciting program, Juan is joined by a world class panel of guests: Joy Onozuka (ATA Communications Director), Marc Fagelson, PhD (Professor of Audiology at East Tennessee State University), and Brynne Stevens (AuD Student at Washington University). Representing the "I wasn't there" contingency, Frank Wartinger serves as the moderator of this panel discussion.
Many other individuals contributed to this program and didn't get the verbal recognition they deserve in the episode. Thank you to Travis Doster (Texas Roadhouse Chief Communications Officer) and Bryce Onozuka (ATA staff member) for making the weekend happen!
Music heard in this episode is by Frank Wartinger.

Caleb Kronen - NHCA Part 5

Happy National Protect Your Hearing Month! October is a great time for us to celebrate all things eerie (get it? ear-ie?) and to conclude our five-part series on the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA). Our guest, Caleb Kronen is an audiologist and director of Hearing Conservation at the Marion Downs Center in Denver, Colorado. This episode we'll talk about his relationship with NHCA, his work as a music audiologist and hearing conservationist, and his musical life.
Music in this episode is by Caleb's band, Kronen.

Cory Portnuff - NHCA part 4

Cory Portnuff is a one-person institution within the National Hearing Conservation Association: he is a regular presenter at NHCA meetings, frequent council member, unofficial conference audio/visual expert, and co-author of the NHCA Position Statement on Recreational Music Exposure. In his day job, he is a clinical audiologist at the University of Colorado Hospital Hearing and Balance Center where he oversees the tinnitus and musicians hearing programs.
We sat down with Cory to discuss our experience at the 2024 NHCA conference, consumer audio safety, verification of hearing protection devices, and why preventative care should be a cornerstone of every clinical audiology encounter.
Music in this episode is from two recent releases by past Talking Ears guest and friend of the show, Eric Heveron-Smith: Tiny Previous Things and Free, featuring Daisy Castro and Isabel Castellvi.

Don Finan - NHCA part 3

Don Finan needs no introduction to the NHCA listeners, nor those hailing from the University of North Colorado where he serves as the chair of the Communication Sciences & Disorders department. He is a favorite presenter at conferences, a talented photographer, a skilled guitarist, and a creative professor. To open a small window into his world and peer through, Don teaches a class titled "Musical Acoustics and Health Issues", during which he challenges his students to build their own cigar box guitars and didgeridoos. Nothing else has made me want to go back to grad school as much as hearing about that course.
We cover a wide range of topics including speech science, guitars, hearing loss prevention, blues jams, guitars, firearm noise research, guitars, and even guitars. In a remarkable display of self-restraint, we have reduced the amount of guitar talk by at least two fold. Sorry, and also, you're welcome.
Music in this episode is from Don's band "The Rhythm Allstars".

Colleen Le Prell - NHCA part 2

Colleen Le Prell is our guest to continue the series spotlighting the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA). Colleen wears a great many hats including: NHCA past president; the Speech, Language, and Hearing Department head at University of Texas at Dallas; and the faculty mentor of the students from her UT Dallas Noise Lab whom we featured in the most recent episode of this show. 
In this episode, we cover a lot of ground with topics ranging from the 2024 NHCA conference, hearing protection device fit testing, otoprotective vitamins, the World Health Organization, and new advancements in gene therapy for hearing loss.
All the music heard was produced by Brendan Fitzgerald and Frank Wartinger specifically for this episode.

Spotlight on National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA)

Talking Ears Season 3 begins with a five-part series spotlighting the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA). Brendan Fitzgerald, past guest and friend of the show, joins Juan and Frank to discuss the 2024 conference, but the episode revolves around the voices of five inspiring audiology graduate students: Brynn Stevens (2024 NHCA conference award winner), as well as four students from UT Dallas presented research posters - Conner Jansen, Allison Woodford, Emily Myers, and Azalea Coste. After hearing these students speak passionately about their drive and dedication, it is easy to see that the future of NHCA, hearing loss prevention, and music audiology is bright!
Stay tuned for the other episodes in this NHCA Spotlight series, featuring presenters and attendees from the 2024 conference including; researcher and educator Colleen LePrell, speech scientist and hearing loss preventionist Don Finan, university professor and clinical audiologist Cory Portnuff, and musician and music audiologist Caleb Kronen.

Spotlight on CAOHC, with Terry Tyson

This special episode of Talking Ears is a spotlight edit of episode 22 which focuses on the work of CAOHC, the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation. Now in its 50th year in the current form, the organization’s history is inspiring and carries a heavy responsibility. With its roots in interdisciplinary education and advocacy reaching back to 1965, CAOHC’s mission is to “advance best practices in occupational hearing conservation worldwide through credentialing, standards, education, and advocacy.” The Council’s vision is, “a world without occupational hearing loss.” 
Terry Tyson is an architectural acoustician and guitar player in the southern rock tribute band, High Noon. He also serves on the CAOHC council representing INCE (The Institute of Noise Control Engineering of the USA) a non-profit professional organization with the mission to “promote engineering solutions to environmental, product, machinery, industrial and other noise problems”. In this episode, Terry describes hearing loss prevention as, “... a subject that is near and dear to my heart”, a sentiment we certainly share as musicians and audiologists. This appreciation of hearing and sound seamlessly sets his role up as a member of the heads up the Noise Committee on the CAOHC council. We discuss his early career in chemical engineering within industrial settings where he experienced first-hand the potential of injury from noise exposure. Terry’s perspective focuses on the health of hearing and well-being of every person, going above and beyond that of regulations. 
We invite you to listen to the full episode of Talking Ears featuring Terry Tyson to hear more about his musical life, thoughts on acoustic architectural design, and which guitar from his extensive collection is his favorite (hint, it isn’t one of the ones he regularly plays one stage).
As Audiologists, this mission resonates with Talking Ear’s co-hosts, Frank and Juan. Noise-induced hearing loss and associated disorders are considered 100% preventable, however we are inundated with cases and outcomes which could have been avoided with the right combination of education, motivation, and intervention. In an effort to put the horse in front of the cart, so to speak, we both serve as course directors for the namesake Occupational Hearing Conservationist (OHC) credentialing programs - training clinicians on the best practices in this vital field. Additionally, Frank recently joined the council as a representative of the American Academy of Audiology. 
As CAOHC course directors, the opportunity to collaborate with others working in various fields of occupational health adds strength to the message of hearing loss prevention worldwide. There is great value in interdisciplinary clinical training to address hearing loss prevention. With such a wide range of occupational settings, each with their own challenges and opportunities, the best defense is a well-informed and motivated OHC. Earmark Hearing Conservation hosts 30 - 40 courses which train ~500 OHCs annually. When we zoom out to consider the hundreds to thousands of workers each OHC is directly serving, the full scope of our impact is both an awe-inspiring privilege and a weighty responsibility. For this reason, creating and delivering a high quality and uncompromising educational experience is our first priority.

Terry Tyson - talking CAOHC, Architectural Acoustics, and Southern Rock

Our guest Terry Tyson is a principal acoustician at Acentech and serves on the CAOHC (Council for Accreditation of Occupational Hearing Conservation) council as the representative of INCE (Institute of Noise Control Engineering). We'll unravel all those acronyms, and use those threads to connect his musical life playing guitar in the premier southern rock tribute band, High Noon. Terry is the perfect example of someone who is thinking of sound from multiple perspectives and his insights alone are worth the price of admission.
In this episode, we'll be hearing selections from live and studio recordings of High Noon.