Excellent 4th Year Opportunity at Multi-Specialty Private Practice

Sounds of Life Hearing Center, a 4-provider private practice in Concord Township, Ohio (located about 40 minutes east of Cleveland), is seeking a 4th Year Extern with a heart for giving, a dedicated and driven spirit, and a growth mindset for the academic year. Our audiologists are passionate about high-quality precepting and prioritize our students' education. Our externs are not expected to generate their own separate revenue and while they do see patients independently (as appropriate and based on payer), there is always at least one audiologist on-site assigned to the student schedule.

Our owner, Dr. Sarah Curtis, prioritizes: evidence-based, best-practice care; high-quality continuing education; community giveback; shared decision making; outcomes-focused care; ethical practice; and supports innovation and professional growth. We consider ours a "unicorn practice" providing excellence in a wide variety of clinical areas which (in addition to standard adult diagnostics and hearing aid fittings) include pediatrics, cochlear implants, tinnitus, auditory processing, cerumen management, community outreach and humanitarian opportunities. Specifically, below our the specific services offered.

Diagnostic services:

• Audiometry (air, bone, high frequency; traditional, CPA and VRA)
• Immittance measures (standard and wideband tympanometry, ARTs)
• Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions
• Electrophysiologic testing including newborn diagnostic testing and adult diagnostics (ABR, ASSR, and other AEPs)
• Cochlear implant evaluation including for single-sided deafness and non-traditional candidates
• Tinnitus evaluations
• Auditory processing evaluations for pediatric and adult patients including individuals with additional diagnoses/differences such as language and literacy disorders, mental health disorders, attention-deficit disorders, autism spectrum disorders, sensory processing differences and others

Rehabilitative services:

• Hearing aid consultation, demonstration, and rehabilitative needs assessments
• Hearing aid fittings (we are able to fit all 7 major manufacturers) including real-ear measures and electroacoustic analyses on every hearing aid
  *Included in our team are audiologists with unique skills in fitting musician patients and in fitting low-gain hearing aids on individuals with normal/minimal losses
• Recommendation and fitting of appropriate assistive devices
• Hearing aid services including minor repairs
• Unbundled hearing aid service model
• Ear impressions & custom earpieces
• Hearing loss/aural rehabilitative options including app-based treatment options
• Community and off-site diagnostics, screenings, and hearing aid services
• Non-surgical comprehensive cochlear implant care including device selections, MAPpings, and follow up care
• Development of comprehensive rehabilitative plans for children and adults with auditory processing deficits, including app and/or computer-based therapies and audiologist-administered programs
• Tinnitus rehabilitation including skilled patient counseling and comprehensive treatment plan development and, when appropriate, treatment with the Lenire tinnitus treatment device, hearing aids, and/or rehabilitative app-based programs such as Mahana tinnitus
• Multi-technique cerumen management including irritation via the Earigator, suction, and curettage
• Development of specific treatment plans tailored to educational and/or vocational needs

We emphasize "whole-patient" audiology and utilize a shared-decision-making model of care.

This position is well-suited to a student interested in pursuing a career in a private practice and/or wanting to understand the business side of audiology. We ensure that our externs are exposed to different reimbursement models, insurances (including Medicaid), and are well-educated on coding and reimbursement rules. We involve our students in marketing efforts such as community fairs and other outreach and physician/provider marketing. Our students are also encouraged to try new things and learn through their mistakes and be involved in the growth and development of new programs. Our 4th year externs additionally gain experience mentoring third-year students from local universities that we precept throughout the year.

• Au.D. student rising to externship year
• Ability to commute to our practice in Concord Township, OH
• Interest in learning from several preceptors
• Passion for helping people of all ages and from diverse backgrounds obtain equitable, evidence-based audiological care and to have their best possible outcomes
• We do NOT offer vestibular services
• We do NOT have any preceptors with CCC-A

Externship Information: Primary Practice Setting: Private practice
Number of Audiologists at the site:
0 FTE Masters Degree
4 FTE Au.D.
0 FTE Ph.D.
0 FTE Other Doctorate (ScD)
0 FTE professional support staff (technicians/audiometric assistants)
2 FTE Clerical Support Staff
Number of Audiology Students each year:
0 1st year AuD Clinical Rotations
0 2nd year
3 3rd year
1 4th year Externships Financial arrangements: Salary
Benefits
Will interview travel be compensated? No
Vacation Days: See Notes
Continuing education opportunities? Yes
Yes, our students are encouraged to attend conferences, manufacturer trainings in person and online, as well as any educational opportunities in which the audiologists participate & are welcoming to student participants Start Date: May 2025
Expected hours/days a week: 40 hrs/5 days
Travel to satellite centers required? No
Local students preferred: No
Does the externship site provide orientation to relevant clinical policies and procedures? Yes Does the externship site provide instructions about patient's rights and providing patient education? Yes Does the externship site provide orientation to quality assessment, quality assurance and quality improvement? Yes
Externship site expects the extern to have mastered these skills before they begin their clinical externship: Students should be able to:

•Confidently perform standard audiometry for adults

•Have experience participating in pediatric hearing evaluations

•Be comfortable administering and interpreting DPOAEs, Immittance

•Be able to compose complete & accurate documentation

•Have familiarity with advanced audiometric assessments such as electrophysiologic tests, auditory processing assessment, cochlear implant evaluations

•Be able to perform basic fitting and repair of hearing aids Externship site expects the extern to learn/demonstrate these skills during their clinical externship: DIAGNOSTIC:

•Determine appropriate test battery for each patient based on their age, ability, and complaints

•Master standard audiometry, including masking, word recognition testing

•Obtain tympanometry, DPOAEs, and audiometry on a child that is sensory-averse

•Complete pediatric hearing evaluations including VRA & CPA

•Perform and interpret immittance testing

•Perform and interpret DPOAE testing

•Interpret results of test battery and identify approximate site of lesion and areas of concern

•Perform cochlear implant candidacy evaluation, interpret test scores, know candidacy criteria, and write detailed reports

•Identify need for further evaluation (both audiology – CI, EP, Vestibular, tinnitus, etc. - and non-audiology)

•Be familiar with common chronic diseases and genetic syndromes, and identify ways in which they can cause, affect, or be affected by hearing loss

•Complete community hearing screenings for adults and pediatrics

AMPLIFICATION/(RE)HABILITATION:

•Develop patient- and family-centered plans of care

•Hearing aid knowledge regarding style, technologies, earmolds, basic repair, and real ear verification

•Select and fit hearing aids such that they are a part of the patient's hearing loss rehabilitation

•Perform hearing aid test measures such as on-ear and test-box verification, measure real ear to coupler differences, and interpret the results of these tests as they may pertain to both amplification and auditory system function

•Manage hearing aid walk-in clinic (if in place; we are currently hoping to establish this in an official format)

•Conduct cochlear implant device selection appointments, MAPping and troubleshooting, and counseling to patients

•Determine candidacy for different rehabilitation options

•Be comfortable with recommendation of and able to program and counsel on use of hearing aid accessories and remote microphone technologies

•Determine need for additional assistive listening technologies

•Take deep, full ear impressions for earmolds and custom hearing devices for patients of all ages

•Perform cerumen management with confidence via curettage, irrigation (EARigator), and suction

SPECIALTY

•Create rehabilitation plan for auditory processing disorders

•Be able to identify and recommend computer based auditory training programs

•Speak with confidence about early intervention and educational recommendations and structures; be able to describe the terms and how they relate to our patients: IFSP, IEP, 504, ADA Clinical opportunities that will be given to the extern:
Rarely Hearing Screenings Regularly Pediatric evaluations: infant/toddler Regularly Pediatric evaluations: school-age Everyday Adult hearing evaluations Regularly Tympanometry Regularly Acoustic Reflexes Regularly Auditory processing evaluations Rarely Hearing Screenings Regularly Evoked potential assessments Never Intra-operative monitoring cases Regularly Otoacoustic emissions Rarely Industrial/hearing conservation Never Vestibular assessments Never Vestibular rehabilitation Everyday Hearing aids dispensed Everyday Hearing aid selection/fitting Everyday Audiologic rehabilitation (group or individualized) Regularly Cochlear implant evaluations Regularly Cochlear implant rehabilitation Regularly Tinnitus assessments Regularly Tinnitus rehabilitation Regularly Cerumen management Research opportunities? Yes
We do not have any ongoing formal research opportunities; however, we have conducted in-house clinical research and have presented at national conferences. If a student expresses interest in a research opportunity, we will support that student. Consortium or collaborative arrangements with other sites? No
How frequently will the externship site communicate with the university during the externship? As Needed Communication or other support do expected or required from the university during the externship: We expect the University to provide us any information pertaining to their program requirements and expectations, methods of grading & hours approval, etc. We also ask that the universities share with us any unique needs or areas of concern that concern the student. Application Deadline: September 18, Application Requirements: Letters of Recommendation
Resume
Phone interview
Letter of request/intent
3 Letters of Recommendation:
1) We prefer these are emailed directly to us; however, please let us know who we should be expecting letters from)
2) We encourage you to seek at least 1 recommendation from a non-audiology source that emphasizes your character and who you are outside your professional life Steps for the student/university to follow in the application process: 1.Submit the completed application to Dr. Cara Donovan AuD via email.
2.Student will be contacted via email to schedule an initial interview via telephone with Dr. Donovan.
3.Another round of interviews will be completed with Dr. Donovan and Dr. Sarah Curtis AuD via zoom.
4.Once all interviews are completed, the staff will discuss all applicants and will contact each one with a final decision. Contact Person:
(preceptor, supervisor or extern coordinator) Cara Donovan, Au.D Are all externs supervised? Yes

• Au.D. student rising to externship year
• Ability to commute to our practice in Concord Township, OH
• Interest in learning from several preceptors
• Passion for helping people of all ages and from diverse backgrounds obtain equitable, evidence-based audiological care and to have their best possible outcomes
• We do NOT offer vestibular services
• We do NOT have any preceptors with CCC-A

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