ROBIN CLOWERS RETIRES FROM IHS

Robin L. Clowers, BC-HIS, the executive director of the International Hearing Society (IHS) for 15 years, retired effective December 31. Clowers, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in April 2003, said that the effects of the disease had made it impossible for her to continue performing her duties at the level that she demanded of herself. Harlan Cato, BC-HIS, president of IHS, announced that Cindy J. Helms, who has been affiliated with IHS since 1997, would become the new director effective January 1.Figure. ClowersClowers had practiced as a hearing instrument specialist for nearly 20 years when she was appointed in 1990 as director of the nation's oldest professional association dedicated to hearing healthcare. At the time, she was president of the society, and had served it for 13 years in various volunteer positions, including governor and committee chairperson. In his message informing members of the change in leadership, Cato said, “IHS leaders, members, and staff who have worked with Robin have had a clearer industry vision because of her experience and ability to see over the horizon. She has proven herself worthy of more thanks than can be expressed here.” A time of achievement During an interview with HJ, Robin Clowers discussed the progress the society made during her years at the helm. Of paramount importance, she said, was the strengthening of the relationships that IHS has forged with other hearing healthcare organizations, including the Hearing Industries Association and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS). Regarding the alliance with AAO-HNS, she said, “It's wonderful to be able to go before a state legislature or federal agency and testify side by side with an MD. I'm very proud of this relationship and the fact that we are all supporting what's in the best interests of the hearing-impaired.” Another area where IHS made important advances, the former director said, is government relations, where she singled out for praise Tim Waters and Karen Sealander of IHS's Washington counsel, McDermott Will & Emery. Today, she said, whenever a hearing healthcare issue arises, IHS has “a seat at the federal policy table.” That was crucial in the 1990s when the Food and Drug Administration considered but ultimately rejected changes to its regulations that threatened the ability of the hearing instrument specialist to practice. More recently, IHS's stature in Washington was reflected in its being named to the steering committee of the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus. Clowers expressed pride in having “been on the team that has brought about the internationalization of IHS.” Examples of this trend are the establishment of an IHS chapter in Japan and the 1991 renaming of the National Hearing Aid Society as the International Hearing Society. In October, IHS will hold its 54th annual convention in Quebec City, the first to take place outside the U.S. Another step forward came a few years ago when, after a long campaign, IHS persuaded the Bureau of Labor Statistics to reclassify the profession of hearing instrument specialist from the category of a sales position to that of a healthcare practitioner. This success was a bittersweet moment, said Clowers, since her friend and colleague Jim Lovell, the former director of governmental relations who first set his sights on this goal, died too soon to see his dream fulfilled. Finally, the former director pointed to the “professionalization of the staff” as another important area of progress for IHS during her tenure. Looking ahead, Clowers hopes to remain active in the hearing healthcare field, possibly in government relations. New director is a familiar face Cindy Helms, the new director of IHS, is widely known among members, in part because she has been of editor of The Hearing Professional, the organization's bimonthly journal, since 1997. She was an IHS staff member for several years, serving as director of marketing, communications, and e-education. Two years ago, she started her own communications and marketing firm, but continued to work with IHS on a consulting basis, including in convention planning. Robin Clowers, with whom she worked closely, said of her successor, “She has tremendous vision. I think she will be able to move us forward.”Figure. HelmsIn accepting her appointment, the new director said, “It's a great privilege to serve the society in this important capacity. I have a deep admiration for the wonderful work of this profession and the exceptional dedication of our members to improving quality of life for the hearing impaired.” Helms has 20 years' experience in association management. In addition to her work for IHS, she served as executive director of Leadership Michigan and director of education for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. She also held a directorship in the American Hotel and Motel Association's Educational Institute. She spoke recently with HJ about her goals for IHS and the challenges she sees. “The biggest challenge to our profession,” she said, “is to spread the word to the 80% of hearing-impaired people who are not now seeking help that we can help you. Amplification can improve your quality of life, and hearing instrument specialists provide a great opportunity for you.” Helms said that “raising the educational bar” for IHS members would be one of her most important goals. In time, she would like every member to hold a 2-year degree in hearing instrument sciences, and, eventually, she hopes a 4-year degree will be the standard. To achieve these goals, she added, “we have to make education more accessible to people.” She continued, “It's important to communicate well with our membership, and I want to accelerate communication.” She would also like IHS to provide additional, “more tangible” benefits to members. Traditionally, she said, IHS has attracted people largely because of its role in representing the hearing instrument specialist, especially in government affairs. But, along with continuing to do that, she hopes that the organization can also draw members by offering new benefits, which will be determined later. “Branding” the hearing instrument specialist and making other professionals and the general public aware of what the specialist does are also on the new president's agenda. Another goal is increasing attendance at the annual convention, starting with this year's first meeting outside the U.S., and improving relations with other hearing care organizations, including audiology groups. FIRST SPECIALTY CERTIFICATION IN AUDIOLOGY OKAYED Audiologists who work with cochlear implants (CIs) can apply for a new specialty certification, the American Board of Audiology (ABA) has announced. This is the first specialty credential established by ABA, which is an independent certifying body allied with the American Academy of Audiology (AAA). To qualify for this specialty certification, an audiologist must have experience working with CIs, hold ABA's standard Board Certification in Audiology, and pass the ABA Cochlear Implant exam, which will be given for the first two times on March 19, in Dallas, and on April 3, in Washington, DC. Further information and an application handbook are available at www.americanboardofaudiology.org. The new certification was developed by the ABA Cochlear Implant Task Force, whose nine members have expertise in the subject, working with Applied Measurement Professionals, a measurement consulting firm, which conducted a job analysis study to determine the core body of knowledge representative of professional practice in cochlear implantation. The task force then identified competencies in eight key areas, which will be tested in the 100-question exam. Cheryl DeConde Johnson, EdD, co-chair of the task force with Patricia Chute, EdD, said that the new certification is a way to recognize audiologists who hold specialized skills and enable them to demonstrate to the public, including patients and potential employers, that they possess such expertise. She also hopes that this certification may encourage university audiology programs to offer courses in the CI area. Established in 1999, ABA has certified nearly 1000 audiologists. From the beginning, it had planned to initiate specialty certification. Because of the unique set of skills required of audiologists involved with cochlear implantation, that seemed like an appropriate place to start. Johnson noted that all three manufacturers of the devices supported such certification. The task force estimates that about 500 audiologists might be able to qualify for the specialty certification. Sara Blair Lake, AAA's director of certification, said that ABA is looking at additional areas in which to offer specialty certification. PROTEIN PREVENTS HAIR CELL REGENERATION A team of scientists has discovered that a protein found in the inner ear of the adult mouse may prevent the regeneration of hair cells and the reversal of hearing loss. In a January 13 report on the Science Express web site (www.scienceexpress.org), the researchers said that when adult mice were genetically modified not to produce the protein retinoblastoma (Rb), they had significantly more hair cells than normal mice at the same stage of development. These additional hair cells appeared to function the same as normal hair cells. In addition, the hair cells in the modified animals made proteins indicating they were still actively regenerating, while those in normal mice did not. Zheng-Yi Chen, DPhil, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, the senior author, stated, “These findings give us a potential strategy for hair cell regeneration, which could have enormous implications for the treatment of hearing and balance disorders. [They] also show that cells that have been considered incapable of regeneration—like most nerve cells—can reproduce under the right conditions, which may have applications to neurodegenerative diseases.” That the genetic basis for hearing loss is almost identical in humans and mice raises hopes that these findings will help researchers learn to reverse human hearing loss by stimulating the regeneration of hair cells ravaged by noise, disease, otoacoustic medicines, and old age. Chen observed, “It's taken over 10 years of work to show that hair cells can regenerate in tissues, and I hope it won't take another decade to achieve functional regeneration in a living animal. My hope and belief is that, if we can do this in mice, we'll be able to achieve it in people.” David P. Corey, PhD, of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, one of the authors of the study, cautioned, While we are very excited about the potential for hair-cell regeneration from this work, much basic research needs to be done. Simply inactivating the Rb gene allows the hair cells to keep dividing and dividing, which might produce tumors in the inner ear. So, Zheng-Yi and his colleagues will be seeking ways to inactivate the gene only long enough to allow a clinically useful amount of proliferation, before turning the gene back on.

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