By Will Bower 

Quinn Petersilka, a first-year audiology graduate student in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD), is working on implementing hearing assistive technology (HAT) in the UI Health Care emergency department. This work is part of her capstone project. 

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), hearing assistive technologies, or HATs, are a diverse group of devices that can help individuals hear in varying environments, such as sounds from a distance or lots of noises in a room. Petersilka’s project incorporates pocket talkers, which amplify sound close to the user and minimize background noise. 

Petersilka said she became aware of the lack of hearing assistive services in emergency rooms through a friend in audiology private practice. 

“She said that they get a lot of calls and walk-in clients who are coming from the emergency room because their hearing aids have died or aren't working,” Petersilka said. 

Petersilka and clinical assistant professor Kellsie Busho determined that providing hearing assistive technology in the emergency room might make it more accessible. 

“We reached out to the lead nurses in the emergency room to see if this was an idea that interested them,” Petersilka said. “They were excited about the idea and open to using hearing assistive devices with their patients with hearing loss.” 

Petersilka and Busho worked with Shannon Findlay and Katie Schneider from the Department of Emergency Medicine and Adrian Silva from Translation Services to integrate pocket talkers within the emergency room. Petersilka also provided a demonstration of how to use pocket talkers during morning and evening nurses’ rounds. 

“When talking with the nurses, we stated that using hearing assistive technology with patients with a hearing loss can be helpful for both their patients and for them,” Petersilka said. “We shared that this can be one way to make this environment more accessible.” 

Petersilka noted that while they are still in the early stages of the project, she has already learned a lot. 

“I've learned that even though hearing loss isn't the number one priority in the ER, it is still an area that nurses and other professionals feel is important,” Petersilka said. “They see the benefit of using hearing assistive technology for patients with hearing loss.”