Women in Audiology—Stories of Courage and Strength

By Gyl Kasewurm

This article is a part of the March/April 2021, Volume 33, Number 2, Audiology Today issue.

Let’s face it. In many situations, women make the world go around, especially in the world of audiology, where women make up 82 percent of the workforce (American Academy of Audiology, 2019).

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused women to show their true strength. The pandemic forced audiologists to rethink and restructure their method of service delivery, as many of our patients are at the highest risk for morbidity. In addition, a record number of audiologists have been furloughed or forced to reduce their workload.

As the pandemic moved into weeks and then months, I connected with colleagues who shared how the many stresses and challenges were affecting their lives and businesses. In response, I formed a Facebook group, designed for females, dedicated to inspire, enlighten, and empower every woman to become her most awesome self (Kasewurm, 2020).

The group that began with a mere 50 individuals has grown to almost 2,000 women. I have been amazed, inspired, and comforted by so many women in this group. This article highlights a few of the many amazing women in audiology.

The new “normal.” The workplace is not what it once was. The doors are now locked, there are no walk-ins, telehealth is present, there is constant sanitizing and mask wearing. Stress is up and revenue is down.

A’ja Penn, owner of Penn Audiology, remarked: “My patients have been understanding and I am happy that I am still open. However, my work-life balance scale is now tipped in the opposite direction, leaving me with much more time for family. As great as that may be, it is simply the inverse of the pre-pandemic and it’s difficult to adjust to.”

For Sarah Roggenbuck, field sales representative at Starkey Hearing Technologies, the change in business practices forced significant alterations to lifestyle and thinking.