The Audiometry Nurses Association of Australia celebrated its 40th annual conference in October 2024. HPA covers the event’s key takeouts and gains an insight into the association itself and the profession it advocates for.
Audiometry nurses began as a profession in New South Wales stemming from a need for hearing services in community health. Annual conferences and workshops started in the early 1980s to provide ongoing education for the nurses, and in 1990 the Audiometry Nurses Association of Australia (ANAA) formed.
In 2024 about 50 delegates gathered at the Royal Hotel Queanbeyan, NSW, from 23 to 25 October for the ruby anniversary conference.
Audiometry nurses are registered or enrolled nurses who have done a post graduate qualification in audiometry, explains new ANAA president Ms Kate Norton.
Norton is an audiometry nurse of 24 years’ experience who works for Northern NSW Local Health District at Grafton Community Health and Goonellabah Child and Family Health Service.
“Audiometry nurses mainly assess children and can work anywhere in Australia but are concentrated in NSW in community health,” she says. “We have a shortage due to older workers retiring and younger people not joining the profession.
“There’s a lot of autonomy as most of us work as sole practitioners. We do everything from assessments to referrals including referring those with permanent hearing loss to Hearing Australia. It’s a rewarding career especially when you see the results of children with hearing loss who you’ve helped.”
Most of the association’s full members are from NSW but some are from the ACT and associate members include other hearing practitioners such as audiologists and audiometrists.
Conference highlights
During the recent 40th annual conference, outgoing president Ms Tracy Hawes welcomed members and Aunty Matilda welcomed them to country.
Audiometry nurses Ms Kirsty Biddle from Inverell and Ms Lucy Rindo from Tamworth spoke about a two-day workshop they organise for audiometry nurses from the upper Hunter New England Local Health District. They arrange educational sessions which coincide with a technician coming to Tamworth to calibrate all audiometry equipment for the area. This allows for minimal downtime in conducting audiometry clinics.
Delegates mapped where all audiometry nurses are based and perform clinics, serving as an opportunity for nurses to meet colleagues who work in their own or neighbouring local health districts.
Conference convenor, Ms Sharyn Wilkinson, a community health audiometry nurse for NSW Health at Queanbeyan and ACT Health in Canberra, gave an overview of tympanometry.
“We have new and older audiometry nurses who benefit from expanding their knowledge on the basic processes of audiometry,” Norton explains.
Otoacoustic emissions added
Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) is a fairly new area that has been added to the audiometry nurse’s battery of testing,
Audiologist Ms Jan Pollard, chief audiologist at Sonic, presented an overview of OAEs and explained the difference between transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs).
Delegates also participated in an otoacoustic emissions workshop, learning about different equipment used for OAE testing and otoscopy, practising on each other.
Sonic equipment, Auditdata, Welch Allyn (Baxter) and Natus exhibited at a trade expo and presented on their companies and products.
This included audiologist and clinical sales specialist from Sonic Equipment, Ms Michelle Wallace, discussing play audiometry and providing tips for assessment of children.
With a multidisciplinary approach common in audiometry nursing, speech pathologist Ms Vanessa Howden helped nurses determine when to refer children to a speech pathologist. Howden, from Queanbeyan Community Health, reiterated speech development at certain ages.
Audiologist Ms Brooke McIntosh discussed the HAPEE program (Hearing assessment program early ears) run by Hearing Australia to provide hearing assessments to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from birth until school commencement.
Ms Sharyn Wilkinson presented on assessing children with difficult behaviours, and the use of the PA5 free field audiometer for testing young children.
Otitis media was a popular topic and Wilkinson also presented on the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) review of otitis media guidelines for children under age 12 on behalf of Ms Kate Newall, nurse audiologist.
Lessons learnt treating otitis media in the Top End was the presentation given by audiologist Ms Kris Tregenza from Apunipima Cape York Health Council, while audiometry nurse Ms Gisella Laughton from Springwood NSW gave an overview of OMOZ 2024 conference in Newcastle.
Laughton relayed the disturbing statistic presented at OMOZ that otitis media lasts for about three years in an Aboriginal child versus three months in other children.
Canberra audiologist Ms Anne-Marie Crowe from Hear Life Canberra discussed the cochlear implant journey from newborn hearing screening to diagnosis of hearing loss and implantation. She also brought a cochlear implant to show delegates.
Hearing Australia audiologist Ms Kristen Sutcliffe discussed when the organisation was established, what programs it offers, who is eligible for its services and factors affecting outcomes of children living with hearing loss.
The Systematically Together Overcoming Racism Model (STORM) research project is developing a tool to determine if racism is present in the hearing health workplace and work to decrease it. Mr Luke Halvorsen, senior project officer in the Indigenous Health Unit at the University of Newcastle, presented on the project.
Newborn hearing screening in the ACT was the topic for audiologist Ms Fran Freeman from ACT Health Directorate. She showed the Maico Beraphone easy screen machine used in the ACT for AABR. If a baby has three refer screen results, they also have a cytomegalovirus (CMV) saliva test. CMV and newborn screening were topics also covered by Ms Jenny Bursell, the Newborn Hearing Screening Coordinator in Canberra.
Case studies were detailed by Ms Lee Lewis and Ms Karen Harris, audiometry nurses accredited as clinical advisors enabling them to supervise audiometry nursing students during clinical placement.
University of Newcastle immunology and microbiology researcher, Ms Olivia Carroll, is studying biofilms in the middle ear and said the research team was looking at adding DNA to middle ear fluid to break down biofilm in the hunt for a cure for middle ear disease.
Ms Linlin Ho, Australian College of Nursing course coordinator, discussed a recent revision of the audiometry nursing course, explaining changes.
Association history
In 1982, Sydney audiometry nurse Ms Maggie Thompson started two-day conferences and workshops to provide ongoing education to audiometry nurses after they completed their studies. The events were at Camperdown Children’s Hospital with the sponsorship of Paxton- Barrand Hearing Aids in Sydney and Nestle.
Since then, a conference has occurred each year except for two years during the Covid-19 pandemic. The audiometry nurses organised and ran the conferences which have mostly been in NSW but several have also occurred in the ACT and Coolangatta, Queensland.
In 1990 a committee was formed with Ms Kathy Stoddart as president, Ms Maggie Thompson (life member) as treasurer and Ms Kathy Challinor OAM (life member) as editor.At its first annual general meeting in 1991 the group voted to become an incorporated association, the Community Audiometrist Association, but in 1995 the name changed to the Community Nurse Audiometry Association. In 2011 it fell in line with other nursing organisations to become the Audiometry Nurses Association of Australia.
A new committee was elected at the annual general meeting at the 40th conference comprising president Ms Kate Norton, vice president Ms Belinda Wilson, secretary Ms Kirsty Biddle, treasurer Ms Sarah Austin, committee members Ms Helen Gee and Ms Gisella Laughton and editor, Ms Lee Lewis.
Delegates dressed in ‘80s gear for the conference dinner which had a 1980s theme, keeping with the birth of the event.
“Due to most audiometry nurses working as sole practitioners, a gathering like this creates support networks and long-lasting friendships amongst our peers,” Norton says.