The Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), will host a 3-part online Audiology Hackathon series to bring audiologists, students, consumers and other experts together virtually, for the purpose of addressing specific issues and to foster greater awareness and action around hearing health as a public health concern. The series starts on July 23.

Inspired by recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine’s (NASEM) 2016 Report, Hearing Health Care for Adults: Priorities for Improving Access and Affordability, ADA says the Audiology Hackathon Series seeks to form a large community of contributors to apply the most focused possible effort, in a concentrated timeframe, on a singular issue.

The three Hackathons will take on the subjects of:

  1. July 23-25: Messaging to Move the Masses. During this session, participants will develop elements of a public education campaign to raise awareness about the importance of audiology, healthy hearing, and early intervention for hearing loss.
  2. August 18-20: Creating Common Hearing Aid Metrics for Consumers. Consistent with recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine, the second part of the Audiology Hackathon series will focus on the development of a consumer-based metric to enable individuals to understand and track their communication abilities and hearing needs, and to create a consumer-oriented format for disseminating the audiogram and other hearing test results to patients.
  3. September 15-17: OTC and Me. During the final session, participants will develop a strategy and a step-by-step process for incorporating and marketing over-the-counter (OTC) amplification products in a private audiology practice.

A video about the Hackathon narrated by ADA Executive Director Stephanie Czuhajewski has been posted on Vimeo:

How the Audiology Hackathon works:

  • Each session will allow teams and individuals to contribute to solve a shared problem or achieve a shared goal over 72 hours.
  • Participants will “hack” away at the specific problem in a collaborative fashion. There will be platforms to share ideas, articles, and resources.
  • There is no minimum time commitment, only the commitment to contribute your thoughts and ideas on topic. Participants may come in and out of the session as needed over the three-day duration. The session will run continually, allowing global participation.
  • You may register for all sessions, or register for single sessions. You may register individually or register an entire team (there will be multiple “virtual rooms” for collaboration).
  • All of the tools and resources developed through the hackathon will be shared with the entire audiology community and stakeholders.
  • All sessions will be conducted remotely using whiteboard and video conferencing software.

For more details and registration of all or any sessions, visit: http://www.audiologist.org/hackathon