Ear Candling: Ineffective and Dangerous
 7/9/2010—
New article on Ear Candling in the Professional Issues Section by Jackie Clark, Doug Beck, and Walter Kutz. Excerpt:
"Many web sites, retailers and “practitioners” continue to offer a variety of candling products with claims of homeopathic and/or natural healing through the practice of ear candling. The widespread hype supporting ear candling (also known as ear coning) refers to ancient Egyptians, Mayans and Tibetans as having practiced candling. Practitioners of ear candling often make unsubstantiated claims of the effectiveness of ear candling in treating a multitude of problems. Some typical claims include removal of cerumen (ear wax), reduction of sinus pressure; treatment of allergies;treatment of hearing loss; sharpening the senses of smell, taste and color perception; relief of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain; and the treatment of vertigo. Proponents of ear candling claim that oxygen is drawn from the flame, thus producing a vacuum which literally pulls residue out of the ear. Many proponents further claim that the vacuum affects and drains all passages of the head via the tympanic membrane (ear drum)...."
Read entire article.
AAFF Science Fair Scholarship Award
(left to right) Dr. Jennifer Bobo, VP of Membership for Texas Academy of Audiology Katarina Mentzelopoulos, Science Fair Scholarship Winner Julie Baker, Katarina's Science Teacher Anastasia Mentzelopoulos, Grandmother, Thanos Mentzelopoulos, Father
Anastasia Katarina Mentzelopoulos, a 10th grade student at T.H. Williams High School in the Plano Independent School District, recently earned a Special Scholarship Award from the Texas Academy of Audiology (TAA) and American Academy of Audiology Foundation (AAAF). Ms. Mentzelopoulos was recognized for her exemplary science fair project in the senior division of the 2010 ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair (EMTSEF) in San Antonio. Each year, the EMTSEF brings together winners of regional science and engineering competitions from across the state. More than 950 entrants from Texas schools proudly displayed the results of their ingenuity and hard work this year. Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s project, titled “The Acoustics of Headphones” was considered superior in the category of Hearing, Balance and Physiologic Acoustics, as recognized by a Special Judge representing audiologists from the TAA and AAAF.
TAA is now on Facebook
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Texas Academy of Audiology for 2010
Are you a current member of the Texas Academy for 2010? Membership is on the calendar year, January 1st–December 31st.
Note: To join our Facebook group page, you must be a current TAA member.
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2010 ExxonMobil Texas Science & Engineering Fair
5/20/2010—
The 2010 ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair was held from the 9th through the 12th of April at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio. Each year the Fair brings together winners of regional science and engineering competitions from across the state. In 2010, more than 950 entrants from Texas high schools and middle schools displayed proudly the results of their ingenuity and hard work in such areas as Animal Sciences, Biochemistry, Mathematical Sciences, and Medicine and Health Sciences. More...
New TAA Board Members Elected and Appointed
At the close of the Texas Academy of Audiology’s 10th Annual Conference, held in Austin on November 13-14 2009, President Matt Lyon, M.S. announced new members of the TAA Board in 2010. The new officers will be:
- Dick Danielson, PhD, Houston, TAA President;
- Steve Miller, AuD, Dallas, President-Elect; and
- Jim Phelan AuD, Beaumont, Secretary-Treasurer.
- Douglas Beck AuD, San Antonio, was elected by the membership to serve as Member-at-Large on the Board. He will serve as the Vice President of Professional Issues for a 2-year term
Lyon, who provided TAA with excellent leadership and guidance throughout his term, will now serve as TAA’s Past President for 2010.
On December 28 2009, a vacancy on the Board of Directors (caused by a resignation of one of the members elected at the November business meeting) was filled by the Board with an appointment of Jennifer Bobo AuD, Rowlett TX, as a Member-at-Large. She will serve as the Vice President of Membership for a 1-year term.
The Texas Academy of Audiology is confident that each of these new board members will help guide TAA to better support TAA members during critical times ahead.
Texas Academy of Audiology News
Letter from TAA endorsing HR 3024
Read the letter from TAA to U.S. Representative Mike Ross thanking him for championing the Medicare Hearing Health Care Enhancement Act of 2009 (HR 3024).
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TAA Open House at AudiologyNow
TAA & Chiropractic Examiners Board Meet
4/6/2010—Representatives of the Texas Academy of Audiology (TAA) participated in a meeting of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners, which was held on April 6th in response to TAA’s written request for a public hearing regarding an amendment to the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners Rules of Practice, 22 TAC §75.17(C) (3). This amendment, as published in the Texas Register on January 22, 2010, had proposed that “vestibular diagnostic testing may be performed by a (chiropractic) licensee that has successfully completed 75 hours of training.”
Upon conclusion of the public hearing, members of the Rules Committee of the Chiropractic Board agreed to recommend to the Board that THE PROPOSAL FOR A RULE CHANGE SHOULD BE WITHDRAWN. The Full Chiropractic Board will not meet again until May 14th and cannot act on that recommendation until then. TAA's request for, and participation in, this public hearing was key to the Chiropractic Board's apparent decision to withdraw the rule. It’s very likely that, had TAA not requested a hearing, the Chiropractic Board could have accepted the original amendment, which required only 75 hours of training. Another proposed amendment may be forthcoming.
See more information in the Members Only Section of the TAA Web Site.
Audiology License Renewal and the Texas Jurisprudence Exam
2/9/2010— As of January 1, 2010, audiologists renewing their Texas Audiology license are required to take the online jurisprudence exam. The jurisprudence exam costs $35. The jurisprudence exam counts as one hour of ethics coursework with regard to CEUs. More...
Changes in Texas Medicaid
1/27/2010—
As announced in the November/December (2009) edition of the Texas Medicaid Bulletin (the bi-monthly update to the Texas Medicaid Provider Procedures Manual) the Provider Information Form has been revised, effective as of September 1, 2009. All participating providers are urged to review the document in detail. More...
TAA Past President Kerry Ormson
1/19/2010—
TAA Member and Past President, Kerry Ormson, Au.D., has been re-appointed to State Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. More....
Save the Date !
11th Annual TAA Conference
November 12-13, 2010
DoubleTree Hotel
Houston Intercontinental Airport
15747 John F. Kennedy Blvd.
Houston, TX
Keynote Speaker:
Patricia Kricos, PhD
Featured Speakers:
Marshall Chasin, Au.D.
Vickie Dionne, Au.D.
Dave Fabry, Ph.D.
Terese Finitzo, PhD
Tabitha Parent-Buck, Au.D.
Angela Shoup, Ph.D..
More to come...
Medicaid Updates
“Texas Audiologists May Be Asked to Pay TMHP for Thousands of Hearing Aids”
Recently, the Texas Medicaid Healthcare Partnership, TMHP, audited claims submitted to TMHP for payment through Medicaid for hearing aids previously dispensed. You may have already received notice of a request for recoupment of Medicaid funds and wondered why (and what actions you might take). Since this issue is affecting Texas audiologists, TAA is working hard, on your behalf, with Medicaid to try to resolve this issue. More...
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