Mysore/Mysuru: The All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysuru, in association with the Mysuru Chapter of the Indian Speech-Language and Hearing Association (MyISHA), had organised a two-day RCI-approved National Conference titled ‘Hearing Horizons 2025’ on Dec. 20 and 21 at AIISH, Mysuru.

Around 200 professionals, as well as 150 students and early-career audiologists from various parts of the country attended the Conference, which featured plenary lectures, manufacturer-led technical sessions, hands-on master class training, a recruitment drive, focus group discussions and multiple parallel sessions addressing contemporary issues in hearing healthcare.

Chief guest, Dr. Kalyani Mandke, one of India’s earliest private practitioners in audiology, highlighted the evolution of hearing care practice in India and the need for evidence-based, ethical clinical services.

Guest of honour Dr. B. Mohammed Asheel from the World Health Organisation (WHO), emphasised the crucial role of hearing in effective communication and highlighted that hearing aids are essential across the lifespan, supporting speech and language development in children and functional communication, and social participation, in adults and older persons.

Dr. M. Pushpavathi, Director of AIISH, emphasised that hearing aid fitting alone does not conclude intervention, particularly in children. She highlighted the importance of post-fitting speech-language therapy and structured auditory habilitation, which are crucial for developing effective speech, language and academic skills, underscoring the need for a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to hearing care.

The organisers of the Conference Dr. M. Sandeep and Dr. N. Devi said that the primary objectives of Hearing Horizons-2025 was to bridge the gap between academic institutions and private practitioners, fostering collaboration, knowledge exchange and uniformity in best clinical practices to improve hearing healthcare delivery across the country.

The Conference brought national attention to the increasing burden of hearing loss in India, which affects individuals of all age groups and often remains undetected or untreated. It was emphasised that untreated hearing loss can significantly impact communication abilities, academic achievement, employment opportunities, mental health and overall quality of life.

The Conference strongly underscored the importance of early hearing evaluation and timely consultation with qualified audiologists.

Audiologists play a critical role not only in accurate diagnosis and hearing aid fitting, but also in counselling individuals and families to adapt effectively to hearing loss and hearing aid use.

Participants also deliberated on the evolving role of the audiology profession in India, particularly in reaching underserved communities through outreach services and ethical clinical practice.

The potential application of artificial intelligence (AI) in hearing care including hearing aid programming, and follow-up services was discussed as a promising approach to enhance accessibility, efficiency, and community-level service delivery in today’s digital healthcare era.

In addition to professional deliberations, the conference was designed to benefit students and early-career audiologists through a Master Class in Hearing Aid Programming, which provided hands-on training with multiple hearing aid brands and technologies. This practical exposure enabled participants to understand real-world fitting challenges and deliver more effective, patient-centred hearing aid solutions.

The conference also featured a recruitment drive, in which several hearing healthcare and hearing aid companies participated, offering career opportunities to registered candidates. This initiative provided a valuable platform for students and young professionals to interact with industry representatives, explore career pathways, and understand current employment trends in the field of audiology.

The conference concluded with a strong call to the public to prioritise hearing health, seek timely hearing assessment, and consult trained audiology professionals for appropriate hearing aid intervention, thereby reducing the long-term impact of hearing loss on individuals, families, and society.