Define AUDIOLOGY

I honestly think, even some of the audiologists (safe to say, in Malaysia) themselves could not define their line of work meaningfully. An audiology student, just beginning to start his/her first year would definitely has several ideas on his/her own on what is audiology. Example, me myself. Initially, I thought I was on a launchpad to become the ear specialist. But as I developed myself for almost four years now, I discovered what I am set to be.

However.

Let me first enrich you with some of the mind-blowing (exaggerate much) understandings of Audiology of the laymen people.

When I mentioned I am doing Audiology to the female population who are not familiar with the field, they would just commonly admit they don't know and politely ask me what do I do and do I have the title 'Doctor' upon graduation.

For the male population on the other hand. Well, there are various responses to the word Audiology. E.g.:

(the first two are typical responses)
Whoa, Audio?! You mean you work in the studio? Be a DJ or something? That's so cool!

or another equivalent response,

You're in the sound engineering industry? Maybe when my band wants to record songs, we can come to you!

or (I never saw this coming)

Ohh. You must be in the same field as Radiology. I nodded in agreement as I thought he meant as in health science, which field both courses are in, when he added you know, RADIO - AUDIO? (sigh, hopeless)

One response hit home and I was especially proud to have a friend like him. He was the reason I wrote this blog in the first place. He was my school-mate, Ajis is his name. I recently contacted him as I was in JB for another clinical placement. When I said I am doing Audiology and hinted that it's related to hearing, he replied,

Ohh, that's why it's audio. So it must be related to the ears and mouth, as both ears and mouth are somehow connected right?

I was delirious with his response, even if he missed the nose. I mean, usually people usually stopped at the ears. And he's from the engineering field, okay?! I told him not many people get it like he did, and he retorted, "kalau budak tak pegi skolah mmg la tak tahu" (only those who didn't go to school wouldn't know) err, he should know that our school mates are some of those who mentioned the above responses.

Anyway. I guess I wanted to write this because I had misled people in thinking I am the ear specialist. When actually, I check people's ears and diagnose people's hearing status using machines. But that does not mean I am a technician. I don't prescribe medicine. I don't do surgeries. I find out what is the problem and manage through referrals, counseling and most importantly, amplification, hence the hearing aids, cochlear implants and fm systems. I work with many professionals: speech-language pathologists, paediatricians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, ENT doctors, teachers of the hearing-impaired and more. Some of the places that require my services include the hospitals, clinics, hearing aid companies, universities and schools.


Right now in Malaysia, only 3 universities produce Audiologists: UKM, UIA and USM.

I don't have the title 'Doctor'. I am an audiologist. And my level is equivalent to a medical officer.

Doctors, audiologists are not your subordinates. We work together at the same level. We are every bit as important as you are in the health field.

That was just a brief explanation. Want further details? Just leave me a message! :)

Clarity is Power - RUC '09

I totally agree with Dr Faiz Khaleed, who was one of the speakers for Real Undergraduate Conference 2009. Clarity is a definite power that some people still do not grasp upon. I thought he was a better speaker than Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, although his speech did tend to be long-winded. Nevertheless, meaningful. I really noted down what he said, some of them being,

'Failure is not a person, it is a SITUATION. Never say someone fails, it's always the situation';

'malu biar bertempat';

'we can tell how a person is by listening to that person';

'when talking to a person, don't give words, give pictures';

'learn to think under pressure/stress';

'bersyukur with what you have but don't get too comfortable, always strive to be better';

and 'the first step is always the hardest, have initiative to take it'.

The Real Leader founding director, Amirul Iskandar also delivered an amazing take on attitude. His session was fresh, energetic and entertaining. I mean, he used Spongebob Squarepants and a clip of Joker and Batman as some of his props. How cool was that? Some of the good quotes were:

'Your attitude determines your altitude';

'Exposure leads to expansion';

and by Charlie Tremendous Jones, '2 things that can change your life in 5 years: 1. People you meet; 2. Books that you read'.

A very good speaker, he is; a shame he had to cut his session short due to time constraint (I mostly blame it to Dr Faiz's long-winded session ;p).

I missed the special message from PEMADAM and Petronas session, and only sat halfway through the Bank Negara session. RUC '09 had the CEO of AKPK to present and one sentence stuck through my mind when he went through 'How you should spend your first salary?' PAY YOURSELF FIRST. I made a mental note to myself to read the book Money Sense. Go to www.akpk.org.my to know more. Save money for: 1. emergency fund; 2. big ticket items; 3. retirement.

The goodies were great! I got an SSF calendar, Gamat honey, sweets, notepad, Bank Negara finance-management book, pen, Datuk Maznah Hamid's bookmark, folder and bag. The participants were spoiled better this year. The inspirational videos were also, of course, inspiring with one of quotes from www.beyondthequote.com.

I thought it's a real shame for those who missed it. I really learned a lot eventhough I didn't sit through the entire conference. I was involved with the registration, and had to be on duty at times. My mother was there and she enjoyed it as well. She laughed her head off during Datuk Maznah Hamid's session (which was definitely fun and an eye-opener as she shared her rise-to-success story) and especially liked Dr Faiz as she thought he was a really sincere young man. Due to that, she's sceptic how Dr Sheikh became the Angkasawan Negara instead of Dr Faiz, haha. A proof on listening to a person talks is actually a description of how that person is.

The Registration Team :)



Can't wait for RUC '10!