Earlier this month, we announced the winner of our very first Moment Maker Grant – Jennifer McGlothlin, Au.D, of Elite Audiology & Hearing Care in Mt Juliet, TN. We interviewed Jennifer to learn how she got started in audiology and her plans for the future.
How did you first become interested in the field of audiology?
I first became interested in audiology when I volunteered at the Mama Lere hearing school at Vanderbilt when I was home from college one summer. I was originally considering speech pathology as a career path, but after working with those kiddos, I decided I was better suited for audiology.
Do you have hearing loss yourself or know anyone with hearing loss? If so, how has this affected you in your professional life?
My grandmother suffered with hearing loss and I was able to evaluate her at the University of Tennessee Audiology Clinic when I was in graduate school at UT, Knoxville. A few years later (when she was ready), I fit her with her first hearing instruments & my family was very grateful! Since then, I have fit a few other family members with hearing instruments… I love being able to help improve their quality of life!
What motivated you to start your own practice?
I knew I wanted to have my own health care practice (in some field) before I even decided on audiology as my profession. Both of my parents worked outside the home when I was growing up, so they weren’t always able to make it to my sporting events and extracurricular activities. I wanted to have flexibility in my career so that I could spend time with my kids and be involved with their activities. Once I began working in an ENT clinic, I also realized that private practice was the only way I would be able to exert my independence in my professional life (and probably the only way I’d ever be able to pay off my student loans!).
As of right now, I am the only audiologist in my practice, but I hope to hire additional audiologists in the future. I focus on helping people hear better with hearing instruments, tinnitus management and cerumen removal. In the future, I plan to expand the tinnitus portion of my clinic.
What are your ultimate goals for your practice?
I plan to expand the tinnitus management portion, to add additional audiologists, to possibly add locations, and then to sell it to another audiologist one day! I hope to encourage the next generation of audiologists to exert their professional independence as private practice owners. While starting a practice “from scratch” has been (and continues to be) WAY harder than I ever imagined, I have full faith that it will be worth it one day! This is my mission field.
Jennifer lives in Nashville with her husband, Neil. They are expecting their first child in July. In her spare time, Jennifer loves playing volleyball and has been playing recreationally ever since she was captain of her high school volleyball team. Jennifer plans to use the Moment Maker Grant for continuing education, specifically to attend the Tinnitus Practitioners Association- Associate Course in December.
Apply for the ReSound Moment Maker Grant today.