George Lindley, PhD, AuD presented latest findings on recreational noise exposure and children with hearing loss at the 2010 Oticon Pediatrics Conferences in Anaheim and Orlando.  Dr. Lindley, a valued member of the Oticon Pediatrics team since 2006 was recently promoted to Manager, Oticon Pediatrics.  In his new role, Dr. Lindley will head the Oticon Pediatrics management team and lead efforts to continue to grow Oticon Pediatrics as the single source for optimal child-friendly hearing solutions.  Dr. Lindley also serves as an adjunct professor for both residential and distance-based learning at the George S. Osborne College of Audiology at Salus University. .

More than 300 hearing care professionals from hospital, educational and private practice settings attended the 2010 Oticon Pediatrics Conferences held at Disney resorts in Orlando, FL and Anaheim, CA. The three-day conferences focused on improving outcomes for special pediatric populations and featured knowledge-sharing sessions with experts in the care and management of special pediatric populations.  

"At Oticon Pediatrics, we are committed to making it easier to help children with hearing loss achieve their full potential," said George Lindley, PhD, AuD, Manager, Oticon Pediatrics. "For all pediatric populations, but especially for pediatric populations with special needs, applying our needs-based philosophy means going beyond advanced technology to also address children's abilities, needs and desires at every stage of their development. Our conference aimed to help improve outcomes for special pediatric populations by giving hearing care professionals the opportunity to meet with and learn from experts representing centers of excellence in pediatric audiology from across the country."

Conference highlights included a presentation on management guidelines for children with unilateral hearing loss by Sarah McKay, AuD from the Center for Childhood Communication at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a session exploring the use of bimodal devices for children by Lisa Davidson, PhD, CCC-A of the CID Research Development at Washington University Medical School. Johnnie Sexton, AuD discussed The Care Project, a multidimensional tool that addresses the grief associated with hearing loss for individuals, families, communities, professionals and pre-professionals. Don Schum, PhD, Oticon's Vice President of Audiology and Professional Relations examined the importance of adjusting fitting approaches when caring for children with unilateral and medially complex hearing loss and Dr. Lindley discussed prevention of recreational noise-induced hearing loss. Hands-on workshops with Oticon sales and training staff and opportunity for additional interaction between the guest presenters rounded out the weekend's productive and informative knowledge-sharing sessions.