…HAVE WE GOT A FORUM FOR YOU!
A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by Kara Nacarato, editor of The Hearing Professional, the International Hearing Society’s member publication. Among her questions was, “What will you miss most about your role as editor of The Hearing Journal?,” a job I left at the end of 2010.
I had to mull over her question for a while, since I was too focused on future options to spend time thinking about the past. Finally, I told Kara, what I would miss most were the many hundreds of friends I had made in every segment of the hearing industry. I used the words “would miss” advisedly, because, in fact, I had no intention of severing my ties with all those good-hearted people—audiologists, hearing instrument specialists, industry personnel, and hearing care consumers—whom I have been lucky enough to meet since I entered the hearing care arena in 1990.
But her question had the added value of motivating me to get to work on finding a project that would reunite me with some of the talented people I had worked with in my old job. Fortunately, though not surprisingly, quite a few of them already had the same notion.
The result of our shared vision is HearingHealthMatters.org, known here as Hearing Health & Technology Matters!, the new blog that you have obviously discovered. I hope you’ll take a look at all the sections of the blog and, better still, post responses to them. Instant interactivity is one of the great virtues of blogs, since it keeps the content constantly changing and always fresh.
Also, please let us know what you think of HearingHealthMatters.org and how we can make it better. I hope what you see will make you visit us frequently for ideas and information you’ll find nowhere else.
BRIDGING THE GAP
Along with the chance to work with a great group of colleagues, another reason I’m excited about Hearing Health & Technology Matters is that it has the potential to help bridge the gap between hearing care providers and consumers.
Everyone who works in our field is frustrated by how many people who would benefit from hearing help have so far chosen not to try it. I’m convinced that a major factor preventing us from reaching our potential is that, outside of the hearing care office, providers and consumers rarely communicate. There are plenty of print and e-publications on hearing, but they provide little opportunity for the two groups to speak to one another and swap ideas.
That’s where our blog comes in. We will provide content of interest to all those who believe that Hearing Health & Technology Matters—providers and consumers alike. And we will do so from a totally independent perspective. For, unlike many other publications about hearing, we are not owned or controlled by a large publishing company, a hearing aid manufacturer, a professional or consumer advocacy society, or a foundation. We who started and run the blog are also the owners.
SHARE YOUR VIEWS
Now, let me tell you about Hearing Views, a section of our blog that I’m personally in charge of. It is a kind of an Op-Ed page, open to anyone who cares about hearing.
While I am writing this first post on Hearing Views, let me assure you that it will not be my personal platform. Instead, it is designed to give you who are reading this now and the thousands more who will be discovering us later a forum to air and share your opinions and insights.
What kinds of views am I looking for? Almost any, as long as they are informed, civil in tone, non-commercial, and in some way relevant to hearing. Feel free to be passionate, funny, moving, provocative, inspirational, thoughtful, informative, or persuasive. Length is not an issue, though conciseness is a plus if you want your view to be read to the end. So, please don’t wait. Just post your views, subject to our comments policy.
