Janet Koehnke,
PhD, CCC-A, FAAA

March 27, 2014

Despite the inclement weather, NJAA is hard at work for the benefit of our profession.  In April, Dr. David Cooper, VP of Communications, will be the guest speaker at an upcoming meeting of the NJ Division of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Advisory Committee Meeting.  At the event he will discuss how discounted hearing aids sold over the Internet can become a very costly proposition for consumers who are trying to find more affordablehearing aids. The event is taking place Friday, April 25, from 9:30am - 4:30pm at the Rahway Public Library and the presentation will begin about 9:30am.   In addition, an accompanying article is appearing in the March issue of the DDHH's Monthly Communicator, which you can read here.

We have also distributed a survey to both members and non-members so we can learn from audiologists across the state what we can do to better meet your needs when it comes to our annual conferences -- particularly with regard to topics, length of time, how often they should be held, and location preferences.  You should have received an e-mail with a link to complete the survey.  Thank you for your participation.  We will report back the results once they are tabulated. 

Later this year we will hold elections for  a few of the positions on our Board of Directors.  If you would like to get involved, this is a great opportunity to let us know you would like your name on the ballot. Information on how to vote from the ballot of candidates will be coming to you this Summer.  

Finally, we will host our annual NJAA Conference in October.  We are lining up a great program based on last year's feedback, so stay tuned for details! 

I'm sure you'll all join me in saying goodbye to Winter.  We'll be in touch again in Summer.  Until then, enjoy the Spring!!

Sincerely,

Janet Koehnke, Ph.D.
President, NJAA

January, 2014

June, 2013

Dear NJAA Members,

I hope you are all having a good year and have plans for some R&R over the coming summer months. By now you all should have received your "Save-the-date" postcard for our Fall Conference.

Dr. Faith Mogila, our Vice President for Continuing Education, has been busy planning for our annual event to be held on Friday, October 18th, 2013. Our conference this year will focus on Pediatric Audiology.

Faith has also been working with our NJSHA colleagues to plan a spring continuing education event. NJSHA and NJAA will be co-sponsoring a number of great presentations on current topics in diagnosis and remediation of individuals with hearing loss. This event will occur during the Spring 2014 NJSHA meeting in Long Branch, NJ. Stay tuned for more information.

Dr. Bob Woods has been actively investigating the idea of developing proposed legislation for a single license for New Jersey audiologists that would cover diagnostics and hearing aids. It looks as though this may be a good time to approach some of our state legislators to discuss this possibility. Bob will keep us posted and let us know what we may be able to do to help move this forward.

I am also pleased to be able to send you the attached presentation for your professional use. It was developed by our Vice President for Public Relations, Dr. David Cooper and is entitled, "Internet Hearing Aid Sales: Sometimes Saving Money Becomes Very Expensive." It was created in hopes that NJAA members will find it useful to inform our patients, potential patients and others about the pitfalls and problems associated with purchasing hearing aids on-line.

Please feel feel to use this presentation at any off-site meetings you may like to set up to promote your practice and educate patients and potential patients on this important issue. In addition, even if you do not plan to set up off-site meetings on this topic, we believe that the information contained within can help you discuss this issue with patients and potential patients one-on-one who may be considering purchasing their hearing aids from the Internet.

Whether you use the presentation off-site, or its messages in one-on-one discussions, we'd love to hear your feedback. Please let us know if and where you use it, as well as audience response, with a quick note using the Contact Us page.

We hope you enjoy the summer and look forward to seeing everyone at our Annual Conference October 18th.

Sincerely,
Janet Koehnke, Ph.D.
NJAA President

11/20/2012

Dear NJAA Members,

I want to begin by sending my heartfelt wishes that you and your families made it through Hurricane Sandy without too much difficulty. I know some of you suffered damage to your practices and/or your homes, and are still dealing with the storm’s aftermath. To those members, my prayers are with you.

I also want to thank everyone who attended our 4th Annual Meeting on October 26th entitled, “The Latest Buzz on Tinnitus.” Without your support and attendance, NJAA would not be able to develop additional training programs to advance your audiology practice skills, (such as the recent course in Cerumen Management held this past summer), or continue to advocate against what we consider to be real and growing threats to our profession: Internet sales of hearing aids and personal amplification devices.

Just as important, I think we can all agree that the event’s key speakers shared information that was both insightful and though-provoking regarding tinnitus evaluation and treatment. A special thanks to Maris Applebaum, NJAA’s VP of Continuing Education, and Faith Moglia of Montclair State University for organizing this event, and a round of applause to our speakers: Sharon Sandridge, Ph.D., Director of Audiology Clinical Services and Co-director of the Tinnitus Management Clinic and Audiology Research Lab, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, Anil Lalwani, MD, Director of Otology and Neurology, and Columbia Cochlear Implant Program, University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Department of Otolaryngology, New York, NY, and Dhyan Cassie, Au.D., Coordinator of Tinnitus/Hyperacusis Clinic at ENT Associates, Haddonfield, N.J., and Board Member of the American Tinnitus Association. While at the event we also hope you enjoyed speaking with our exhibitors about their latest products and services.

Board of Directors Nominations

As we look forward to next year, we are beginning the process of filling three positions on our Board of Directors by asking for nominations for: VP of Continuing Education, Treasurer, and President Elect. Feel free to nominate yourself for one of these positions. In addition, if you would like to nominate someone who has the qualifications to fulfill one of these roles we ask that you first consult with that individual. You can submit your nomination on the Contact page

Thanks again for all your support this year. The NJAA Board of Directors and I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Holiday Season.

8/2/2012

Dear NJA/A Members,

Welcome to our first “Message from the President” being emailed to all NJAA members.

At NJAA we are working hard on continual improvement to ensure we meet and exceed your expectations.  As an organization we are dedicated to fostering the growth, development, recognition and status of the audiology profession and its members in NJ; one area we have committed to improve upon is our communication to membership.

As we grow as an organization, it is important that we open a dialogue with our members and update you on the many activities we are engaged in to support you, our profession and our mission.

This year has been an exciting one for NJAA.  We elected a new Board of Directors and I can assure you they are all fully engaged and working extremely hard on building a strong organization that not only advances, but protects the interests of its members.

On the educational front, we started the year by planning for the 4th Annual NJAA Conference. Our Conference will focus on tinnitus and is scheduled for Friday, October 26, 2012. We  have a terrific line-up of speakers from the medical, research and private practice communities who will talk to us  on this complex and increasingly important issue.  The program is approved for HIS, ASHA and AAA CEU credits and exhibitors are lining up to participate.  You’ll be hearing a lot more about this exciting conference in the weeks to come.

In addition, now that cerumen management is under our scope of practice in New Jersey, we sponsored and helped to develop a cerumen management conference in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Academy of Audiology and Salus University.   The program, held July 11, 2012, provided the basic coursework for certification for those who want to include cerumen management as part of their practice.  Feedback was extremely positive and we are exploring the possibility of developing additional programs in this and other areas of practice.  You will be hearing more about these in the coming months.

On the advocacy front, we are conducting a public relations program focused on the issues and concerns audiologists have regarding online hearing tests and Internet hearing aid sales.  We have sent letters to numerous editors and reporters at both national and state media outlets, as well as the New Jersey Hearing Loss Association, to draw their attention to our concerns and the potential problems consumers with hearing loss may confront when they participate in such programs. You can read our letter to the editor here. We’ll keep you posted on any new developments resulting from this effort.

As you can see, it’s already been a very busy year.  We are excited about improving our communications with you and hope this is the beginning of developing a better dialogue with all our members.  Following this message, the “Message from the President” will be sent on a quarterly basis.

In the meantime, we encourage you to provide us with feedback on how we are doing, and how we can better meet your needs and interests as licensed audiologists in New Jersey.  Please feel free to provide us your feedback. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Janet Koehnke, Ph.D.
President, NJAA

4/11/2012

Welcome to the New Jersey Academy of Audiology! 

We are glad you have joined us.  The mission of the NJAA is to increase awareness and understanding of our profession and to promote audiology as the primary profession in New Jersey for the delivery of hearing and balance care.  NJAA is committed to facilitating the ability of our members to identify, diagnose, remediate, and prevent hearing and balance disorders by providing professional education, informing citizens of NJ regarding hearing healthcare, and promoting research.

We are dedicated to the dissemination of information to audiologists across the state through our website, our annual conference and other electronic media.  We invite you to visit our website on a regular basis.  If you have comments or questions about the NJAA or would like to get involved in the Academy please contact us.  We look forward to seeing you at our October conference.

Janet Koehnke, Ph.D., CCC-A, FAAA
NJAA President