Advancing Audiology: The Future of Board Certification with Dr. Carrie Meyer

In this live-recorded episode of Science Meets the Sound Booth at AAA 2026, hosts Emily Venskytis, AuD, and Sarah McAlexander, AuD, sit down with Carrie Meyer, AuD, to explore the launch of the General Audiology Board Certification. From eligibility and exam development to real-world impact, Dr. Meyer breaks down how this new credential aims to elevate clinical practice, validate expertise, and align audiology with other evidence-driven healthcare professions. Learn how board certification can enhance career growth, improve patient outcomes, and shape the future of hearing healthcare. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Hello, and welcome to the recording of Science Meets the Sound Booth. Thank you all for coming to the live recording of the fourth episode of our podcast series. So this is a recording of an episode that will be available on the podcast apps. You can see we have a QR code there. You can view all of our episodes on the AAA website, on the Spotify podcasts, or the Apple podcasts. So we'll launch right into our introduction. We're gonna ask many questions of our guests here, and we hopefully will have time for a few audience questions at the end.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

All right. Welcome to Science Meets the Sound Booth, sponsored by the AAA Foundation, where hearing meets understanding. We're your hosts, Emily Vin Skytis and Sarah McAlexander, and in this podcast, we'll explore evidence-based clinical care and audiology. Science Meets the Sound Booth aims to translate research into real-world application. We're finally stepping out of the booth, metaphorically at least, to support informed decision making and better patient outcomes. Whether you're an audiology professional, a student, or you've spent so many hours wearing the monitor headset that you've forgotten what daylight looks like, you're in the right place. Today, we are joined by Carrie Meyer, AUD. Dr. Meyer is Director of Clinical Programs for Amplifon Hearing Healthcare. She is an audiologist with over 35 years of clinical experience in diagnostic assessment of hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance dysfunction, as well as hearing aid evaluation, fitting, and verification. In her role as director of clinical programs, Dr. Meyer works with providers, health plans, and members to optimize member hearing health outcomes by improving clinical care pathways through provider innovation, member education, and health plan support. Dr. Meyer is chair of the American Board of Audiology and a distinguished fellow of the American Academy of Audiology. She is a member of the International Hearing Society and the Academy of Doctors of Audiology. Dr. Meyer is a member of the Concordia University St. Paul Board of Regents, where she chairs the academic committee. Welcome, Dr. Meyer. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Yes, thank you. Well, Dr. Meyer, the Academy launched this podcast to bridge the gap between research and practice. So, how does the new general board certification fit into that mission of translating evidence into action?

unknown 2:33

Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

So I think this is critically important. And one of the things I hope you're all noticing when we're sitting in this fantastic convention is all of the evidence-based practice, research guidelines that are being provided to us, right? That's the movement within audiology. So I'm looking at that at that professional level. We're moving the profession forward. We want to have that for our audiology. This is for audiologists, right? This is for our practitioners. And what I always think that is really, really important, and I'm checking my notes because I want to make sure that this comes out, is that we want this general audiology board certification to align audiology with other evidence-driven healthcare professions, and we want to promote audiology as that doctoral level profession with this expertise, similar to our colleagues in medicine, and optometry, in dentistry, and physical therapy. So that's that transition from all of this amazing research and this evidence-based practice into day-to-day care for that practitioner. Wonderful, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

And so most of our listeners already have a state license and potentially many other credentials. Why did ABA feel that now is the right time to introduce an exam-based general board certification?

SPEAKER_02 3:55

Thank you. That's my favorite question. So, what we want to remember is licensure is critically important, but it is also minimal competency, right? When you are a licensed audiologist, what do we know? We know you graduated from an accredited institution. We you took some level of a national exam, right? And you completed supervised care and you passed for your license, whatever that requirement might be for most states, simply those requirements. You are now uh documented to be a safe practitioner, but that's a minimal competency. When we're looking at our other credentials, we have some amazing certificate programs. We might want to look at ABA certified. We want to look back historically a little bit. Remember, audiologists were not always licensed. So back in the decades when I first practiced, and dinosaurs also roamed the earth, we didn't have this. And so there were some credentials created for national standardization. In 1999, the Academy created an American Board of Audiology certified, but again a minimal competency. Now we have these certifications, right? We have tinnitus, we have our educational audiology certificate programs. Again, pointing out those expertise. What came to us was a lot of practitioners wanted, with that additional expertise that they have from practicing for years, that validation of their expertise, board certification. Remember, board certification means you have a level of uh experience in the field and you have passed a rigorous examination, a higher level of expertise and validating that expertise.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

That's great. Yeah, something that we've been talking about on this podcast so far is practicing at the top of your license.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

That's the one.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Yes, so I I love what you said. Licensure is the minimum standard. So this is a way for audiologists, it sounds like, to show that they have met these higher standards to get them practicing at the top of their license.

SPEAKER_02 6:04

There's practicing at the top of your license and practicing at the top of your scope, right? And this is that level of expertise that we want to validate with this credential. Wonderful, wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Well, let's talk about eligibility then. So, what are the eligibility requirements and how does someone know if they're the right fit to pursue this?

SPEAKER_02 6:23

Thank you. And I'm no kidding, gonna check my notes because we have been working hard on this. So, one of the things we're doing when we're building out this credential is we have a task force development focused on the exam development, then we have our oversight committee that is looking very specifically at eligibility requirements. So when we're looking at that, and there is a candidate handbook, and it will be on the website, so don't quote me. So, we want to have, first of all, education. We want to have an AUD or a PhD in audiology. We are also accepting applicants who may have a master's degree. We want to remember, and also I'd like to let everybody know, we have international applicants, we have audiologists in other countries that are seeking out, again, this validation of their expertise. In other countries, there's frequently a master's degree. In addition, you have to have minimal competency. You have to be licensed in the state in which you practice, and it needs to be unrestricted in good standing. And then finally, we are looking at work experience. So when we're looking at work experience for the AUD or the PhD, it would be five years. If you are ABA certified, so indicating you're already doing continuing education that is more advanced, three years. And then if you have a master's degree, seven years, because as we well know, if you're practicing with a master's degree in the US, you have far more than seven years. But for our international candidates, seven years. So those are our current eligibility requirements. In addition to, we want to make sure that the portion, the preponderance of your work has been specifically in the field of audiology.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

That is great. So I know we were talking about how this how board certification requires a rigorous examination. Um, and so can you give us a peek behind the curtain? How did you determine what's included on this examination?

SPEAKER_02 8:20

I can give you a peek. So this exam is based on the 2022 practice analysis, all right? And what that is, is it is a large survey of actual, no kidding, practicing, doing it all day long, audiologists, and it went through, and that and the practice analysis is a number of things. First of all, there's demographics. Where do you work? What what what kind of practice setting are you in, so on and so forth. But then it literally generates domains. What we're looking for is, you know, do you do diagnostic assessment? Do you do rehabilitation? And we can get off into the weeds with this, can't we? Because audiology is so bright, broad. But that exam is being based, the exam blueprint is being based on the 2022 practice analysis. Going forward from there, we have our exam task development task force, which we currently have a lovely group, I believe it's 19 subject matter experts, that are working together, and what they are doing is they are writing exam questions. That's part of their job. The other part of their job is they are reviewing. There is discussion. We are audiologists, there's lively debate, all right, and going forth and creating these challenging validating questions, but it is based on the practice analysis.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Great. Well, thank you to their work on that, all of the people that have been working with that.

SPEAKER_02 9:46

Please, thank you so much for everybody. This was, I think you are inviting me to speak, but I promise there are so many people involved in this, not just me. That's wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Well, tell us a little bit more of the logistics here. So when are you, if someone was being the first cohort to complete this, what what are the key dates they should put on their calendar? All right.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

I'm gonna use my notes for sure here because um, you know, I did take my fish oil this morning, but you gotta check the memory. So I want to be absolutely positive, and here it is. So online applications for the beta exam are slated to be open from July 1st to September 15, 2026. I'm looking around. Over there in the corner is the ABA booth, and we do have a QR code. If you would like to get your name on the list, you'll be notified and you'll have an opportunity to apply for the beta exam. Please do that. The more professionals we have taking this exam, the better this exam is going to be long term. We're going to be using this for so many things, including standard setting. In addition, the beta exam is planned for administration from November 6th to 16th, 2026. The hope here is by December 2026 to award the first BC-A.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Awesome, thank you. That is so exciting. So talking a little bit more about why someone would want the certification, what the value is. Um, it's a competitive job market out there. Um, and a lot of times we're trying to negotiate with employers, with payers, with all sorts of stakeholders in audiology. How can an audiologist practically use the certification to amplify their value?

SPEAKER_02 11:33

That is really the core of why we're doing what we're doing, right? It is a competitive job market. We look at our students out there. We look at those of us who may be moving to a different location or we choose to change practice settings, and we want this to highlight that this is a practitioner with mastery in their field. We truly want this to be a differentiating factor. So we want to remember a couple of things, all right? For instance, as we are looking at how many of us have been talking about scope of practice, scope of licensure, and then how many of us are talking about scope expansion, right? We also want to consider scope creep. And one of the things we want to remember that our hearing instrument specialists' colleagues are incredibly valuable, and we want we really respect them for that which they do. Also, we wanted to point out they have had board certification since 1982, all right? So audiologists are might be just a titch behind the ball there. This moves us forward as a differentiator because let's be thoughtful about this. How does that help a consumer, right, when they see those words? I found something really interesting. The American Board of Medical Specialties did a consumer survey, and they found that two things. First of all, this is a basically cultural competency that is recognized. There are people who simply go, oh, board certified, that means you're good. That means you're an expert, right? People recognize that. More importantly, for those of us who do this for a living, this um study that was done by this American Specialties Board found that 95% of people sought out those who were board certified when looking for a practitioner. And they also ranked board certification as being second in importance only to whether or not that practitioner um accepted their insurance. So I think that's a huge big deal. Now, let's talk about our employers. This started out from the DOD and the VA coming to the academy, coming to the American Board of Audiology and saying, you don't actually have like optometrists, like dentists, like our physicians, board certification with an exam, right? So this literally came from an employer for advancement in rank and increases in salary. This is something that we need to demonstrate our value. I'm literally gonna change hands. Now, I am currently working for a company that participates and works with managed care. This is something that hospital and clinic systems use as prestige. I want to say that my audiology department has board-certified audiologists, right? Payers actually do look like for this because it is a validation of expertise and it indicates to those health plans that you are adhering to clinical best practices. So it truly has value, and we want it to amplify our value as audiologists.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Wonderful, that meets the theme of this convention for sure. So well, now the ABA already does offer some board certification exams in specialty areas, um, for example, pediatrics and vestibular. So, how does the general board certification exam complement these? And can someone hold both or multiple?

SPEAKER_02 15:00

Absolutely. So I think it's a beautiful compliment. So, first of all, we have pediatric board certification, right? Our pediatric um, oh my goodness, I'm blinking on it. Our board certified in pediatrics, BC-PA. We also have launched last year in 2025, um, so proud of this. We also have board certified in vestibular audiology. Those are specialty certifications. This is a broader board certification. There was a lot of effort and thought put into how we defined this. Partly because we already have the pediatric specialty, but in addition to comments that we had from focus groups of practicing audiologists, we discovered that there was a a need and a requirement for audiologists in the adult lifespan. All right, so that yes, it is broader, but it's adult audiology. So how I like to think about it is almost all of us have worked with ENTs, right? So they're a board-certified surgeon and then facial plastics, right? Board certified ENT and then allergy. So how I'm visualizing like, let's say we're an audiologist in a hospital system. So we want to have the focus in pediatrics, but you know what? We're gonna see some grown-ups, right? Or maybe you're branching out into your own practice. And so you're thinking, I would like to, of course, be board certified in audiology, but I want a vestibular clinic. So I think those pair really nicely.

SPEAKER_00 16:33

Great. That is great. And so, looking five years down the road, how do you hope that this general board certification will have shifted the landscape of hearing health care?

SPEAKER_02 16:44

This is a really big one for me. I'm very, very passionate about this. So we were talking before we we got on the podcast. You know, we're here right now, and we are blessed to be with all these incredible researchers, and we're looking at all of these programs that the academies put forward, right? This morning I listened to Catherine Palmer, Nick Reed, and um some other researchers that were with NASOM, right? Looking at setting those meaningful outcomes for hearing aid use. Practice standards. They had granular data up there, right? We should all be doing these things. Then we're looking at this writing group that just came out with all of the quality of life things with hearing aid use for our adults. How I see board certification going into that is validation. Validation that that practitioner knows and consistently uses those best practices. And we are going to have a component here of re-certification. My joke, because I practice a couple of decades, is very simply if you take a two-week vacation, when you come back, stuff's gonna have changed, right? I swear to grief. If nothing else, your audiometer will have four different things and your hearing aids will be different. So this is that constant demonstration to your employer, to your patients, to your colleagues, that you are meeting that higher level of practice. So now I'm gonna be really goofy, all right, because I am. So, do you like Mel Robbins? Your podcasters, do you like Mel Robbins? Okay, all right. So I challenge you, because she's phenomenal, but she always brings on these experts, doesn't she? And how does she introduce them? World renowned and board certified or double board certified, right? That's how she does it. And why is she doing that? She wants to establish their credibility, she wants to establish their expertise. This is why for the next 60 minutes you should listen to Mel interview this person. I want that for us, okay? I want that for audiology.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Well, this is this is also wonderful, and I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna pop a pop question out to you. You know, as you've been talking about the certification with the community and and everyone here at the convention, have have there been other pieces that people have brought to you that you'd like to share with us today?

SPEAKER_02 19:06

I'm having so much fun with this, okay, because obviously we're audiologists, we always ask a lot of questions, we always definitely have our own opinions, don't we? All right, all I have heard, and it's been just inspiring, is two things support, which has been wonderful, and then oh hey, I have an idea. Okay, which I love. I literally, I think at this point in time, if you go over to the ABA booth, I think we have like seven new board certifications that people want to see. So this is wonderful. So that that's what we're getting, and it's amazing. But to my mind, that is showing that audiologists are recognizing who they are and why they are, right? We are not simply people who dispense a hearing aid. We are experts in hearing, tinnitus management, and balance, and we need to be more of those things. We can't simply be a hearing aid, we have to be the experts and the doctoral level profession that we claim to be, and board certification validates that.

SPEAKER_00 20:09

Absolutely. I mean, I think that credibility matters. It gives you that extra boost of saying, you know, I'm not just saying I know my stuff, but I've gone out of my way and I've proven it. Um and I know I currently hold um my pediatric audiology specialty certification through the ABA. And I was so proud of being able to pass that exam and put those letters behind my name, knowing that they meant something, knowing that it proved that, you know, I'm not just a pediatric audiologist because I signed up to work in this clinic and I see kids all day, but because I've studied my stuff, I've gone out there and I've proven that I know it. And I think we all want that credibility to be able to say, you know, I really care about this, and I care about it enough that I'm doing the extra work, I'm doing the extra education, and I'm passing these exams. And so it's not surprising to me at all that now that we're starting to really explore, okay, this general board certification, that people are saying there are so many other things that I want to be able to prove my competency in, so that when I walk into an interview, into a discussion with an employer, a payer, a patient, that I can say, listen, I'm coming from this from a base of knowledge. Um, and that that's why I can make these recommendations, that's why I can practice the way that I do. So I I think that's so exciting to hear that you're getting nothing but support and new ideas. It's been wonderful. Um, and it'll be it'll be great to see where we are at in five years, 10 years, 15 years. Um, and so I really thank you and the entire um board and all of those um volunteers for the work that you did on this project. It's it's really phenomenal work.

SPEAKER_02 21:44

It is a massive team effort. There has not been one person doing this. I see ABA board members here that I really, really respect. Trent Westrick is over there, who is who is uh managing our task force on the exam development. We have a group. This is a group effort. This is a Team. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 22:01

And so for the audiologists listening today, what is the very first step they should take to prepare for this new milestone in their career? Show up here.

SPEAKER_02 22:10

Okay, because if you can't find at least 10 wonderful education courses to expand your knowledge, you m haven't showed up, right? In addition, push your comfort zone a little bit, right? All right. I was chuckling, I was with some, I like to call them more mature audiologists, such as myself, and we were all joking, we need to go see an APD course because it has expanded so enormously. I'm a vestibular audiologist. If you go, there are so many new assessments. There is constant growth and innovation in our field. Never stop learning. If you consistently challenge yourself, if you're doing the educational things you need to do to expand your daily practice, you are going to be prepared for this. In addition, of course, the handbook will provide you some guidelines of things to consistently follow up so that you're sure that you're prepared.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Great, thank you. Well, we'll have we have our fun closing question, but first for those that popped in later, we're we're having our live recording of our Science Meets the Sound Booth podcast. So you're welcome to listen to this episode again for all of the information. And there'll be show notes with um links to things like the handbook where you can find more information. Um so our show is now called Science Meets the Sound Booth. But we love to ask our guests outside the sound booth or your day job, um, what is a habit, hobby, or mindset that helps you stay balanced or focused?

SPEAKER_02 23:35

Ah well, my balance, of course, comes from my family. I have an amazing husband, two daughters that challenge me constantly, and I adore them. But as anybody who spent more than two minutes with me knows, I would always rather be outside. Okay, I live to hike. I always joke, but it's only a little bit of a joke. If I got offered a job as a park ranger, gosh, I someone hope someone else can share this board, right? So, yes, I live to be outside. That's where I find balance.

SPEAKER_01 24:02

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

Thank you so much. Yes, thank you so much, um, Carrie, for being on the podcast today. It's so exciting, like we said, to hear about all of these upcoming developments from the American Board of Audiology, and I'm so excited to see how all this continues to advance. Um, for all of our listeners, whether you're here with us in person here today or you're listening later on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get our podcasts, thank you so much for tuning in. Um, and we hope that you will subscribe, download all of the things that you do with your podcasts, um, and join us for future episodes, as well as check out some of our past episodes. They were good. Yes. Dr. Meyer mentioned um several of those topics that we've covered in our past episodes, from the NASA report um to the quality writing group. Yes, the quality writing groups of life writing group, um, the strategic guidelines that the academy is developing. And so we're really trying to get all of that information out there somewhere where you can listen on your carpool, on your hikes, on your walks, whatever you do. Um, so please tune in. We would love to um hear your feedback, and um we look forward to seeing you on future episodes.

SPEAKER_02 25:12

Thank you for having me.