The International Hearing Society (IHS) and the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) issued a joint statement to their respective members today, announcing the cancellation of the 2016 and 2017 Unison events.
Readers may recall last March the two organizations stated they would be combining resources and offering a joint educational event in 2016 and 2017. The inaugural event to be held in Chicago, a first in the hearing industry, was to be called the Unison Hearing Health Global Summit.
IHS and ADA have mutually agreed to dissolve the Hearing Health Education Coalition (HHEC) that was formed by the two organizations to conduct the Unison conferences.
Image of IHS notice sent to members this morning, announcing the cancellation of the Unison Hearing Health Global Summits for 2016 & 2017.
Differences too Great to Overcome?
The Unison meetings were intended to bring both groups together for an annual educational event, and seemed to have the support of key stakeholders such as the Hearing Instrument Association (HIA) when it was first announced last year.
However, since the announcement of Unison, there were well documented differences of opinion on several important issues, including different stances on the recent PCAST recommendations and the IHS’s Certification for National Guidelines for Apprenticeship Standards.
The recent controversial partnership between ADA and Intricon to start EarVenture LLC, may have also played in role in the fissure of the IHS/ADA partnership to create the Unison conference.
“The decision to cancel the Unison summits in 2016 and 2017 follows many confidential discussions with ADA, which IHS is not at liberty to disclose. IHS always strives to do what is best for our members, customers and partners, and with the full support of our Board of Governors, we are looking forward to moving forward with plans to hold a successful 65th Annual IHS Convention and Expo in Chicago this September.” -Kathleen Mennillo, MBA, IHS Executive Director
Stephanie Czuhajewski, Executive Director of ADA was also reached for comment and echoed the sentiments of Mennillo. Similarly, Czuhajewski said her organization was planning to hold their own annual convention later this year.
its a shame, but I am not surprised.