Recharge, Refocus, Rise: A Summer Guide for Audiology Students
By Hector Smith-Sanchez The heat of the summer brings the best time of the year, Better Hearing Month…
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Americans Do Not Understand the Importance of Hearing Health:
A new report finds that most Americans are not aware of the impact hearing health can have on their overall health.
Listen To This is a global alliance comprised of industry leaders, academic institutions, and other non-governmental organizations. In late 2025, this group conducted quantitative interviews with more than 1,000 US adults aged 25+ years.
Overall, the results suggested that long-term health was very important to Americans, with a focus on regular exercise (88 percent) and diet/sleep (82 percent). However, hearing health was not part of the health routines reported. In fact, only 1 percent ranked monitoring their hearing among their top five longevity priorities.
Hearing health continues to be neglected as a part of an overall healthy lifestyle and goals for longevity. This is concerning given the existing research that shows unaddressed hearing loss is one of the biggest modifiable risk factors for reducing the risk of dementia (The Lancet, 2024).
After interviews, participants were informed about the connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline. When hearing health was presented as brain health, over 35 percent of participants who had never had a hearing evaluation indicated they would be seeking one.
One thing is clear, although the data is available, Americans have not received the message. Listen To This intends to improve this.
References
Livingston, G., Huntley, J., Liu, K. Y., Ames, D., Ballard, … Mukadam, N. (2024). Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet Standing Commission. The Lancet.
Staff. (2026, May 21). Americans fail to understand overall impact of hearing health, report finds. Vision Monday./www.audiology.org/americans-do-not-understand-the-importance-of-hearing-health/
Access a recent JAAA article, American Academy of Audiology Health-Related Quality of Life Benefits of Amplification for Adults with Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review Protocol. This protocol outlines a systematic review with meta-analysis to evaluate the evidence that hearing aid use versus non-use enhances the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of adults with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).
Access now at audiology.org
The ReSound Student Webinar Series, The Ripple Effect: Audiology in Motion, is a new series designed to spotlight the energy, innovation, and leadership students bring to the future of hearing health care.
Check out Part 1: Future of Hearing Healthcare: Student Voices Leading Change—featuring student perspectives on advocacy, research, externship experiences, emerging technology, and the evolving future of the profession.
Stay tuned for Part 2 coming in late July/early August!
https://eaudiology.audiology.org/resound-student-webinar-series
Undergraduate Programs
Thinking about pursuing an audiology program? Find undergraduate resources here to help make your journey easier.
Audiology Doctoral Students
About to choose between an AuD or PhD degree for your audiology program? Don’t walk this journey alone - find resources here that can help guide you.
Get Involved
Advocate on behalf of the profession, educate your peers, and participate in national campaigns to get the word out about hearing health.
Volunteer
The SAA has many volunteer opportunities from committee positions to a state ambassador program.
Advocate
Ensure your voice is heard and join your peers, and the Academy, on Capitol Hill.
Participate
Get involved in national campaigns to educate the public about hearing and balance care.
Become a Chapter
Instate a chapter at your university—become eligible for chapter funding opportunities.
Academy Enterprise
The Student Academy of Audiology works with the following groups who work to support the overall Academy in the areas of accreditation, philanthropy, voluntary certification, advocacy, and support and education of audiology students
