BY JENNIFER KISSAS, AUDIOLOGY RESIDENT
My name is Jennifer Kissas, and I’m a fourth-year audiology resident at the House Institute Foundation. I am in the culminating year of my Doctor of Audiology program and will graduate from California State University, Los Angeles, in May. My time at the House Institute has been a very rewarding experience. House has encouraged me to engage in community outreach events to give back to others in need while also cultivating my audiological skills to administer varying audiological diagnostic tests across patients’ entire lifespans.
I started my residency in the pediatrics department at House Children’s Hearing Center, where I performed newborn hearing screenings, diagnostic auditory brainstem response tests, and audiometric tests for infants to young adults. Under the guidance of Dr. Gladys Diaz-Garcia and Dr. Reynita Alcisto, I was able to perform hearing aid and bone conduction fittings.
During my pediatric rotation, I was given the opportunity to go on my first humanitarian trip to help the underserved community of children with hearing loss in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Seeing the lack of quality hearing healthcare and medical devices in other countries was eye-opening. In partnership with Fara Clinic, our team of four audiologists saw almost 100 patients in one short week. We saw many smiling, happy children’s faces who were fit with their first hearing aids ever. Some returning patients from the previous year’s visits needed new earmolds and hearing aids because they could not obtain new ones due to cost and lack of availability in their region.
We also experienced heartbreak on our trip as well, because not every child we saw was able to receive a hearing device that they so desperately needed—especially those children born with a condition known as atresia, in which there is no ear canal. These children need special bone conduction hearing aids, which are very costly, and that is why supporting the House Children’s Center is more important than ever. This experience has made me interested in continuing to do more humanitarian work as an audiologist for those in need, both locally and internationally.
I am grateful for the exposure the House Institute has given me to the varying fields of audiology in pediatrics, adult diagnostics, and hearing aid dispensing. I feel prepared to enter the workforce in any direction, which is one of the many reasons I applied to and accepted the audiology residency position at House. The Institute has a legacy and reputation for providing the best care to patients with its renowned neurotologists and audiologists. I knew they would prepare me to be an exceptional audiologist, just like my predecessors. My advice to future residents is to keep an open mind and heart for everything. Be flexible and consider new perspectives from parents, patients, and advice from your preceptors. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for help. Try to absorb everything quickly, because your rotations and the one-year residency will be over before you know it.
Jennifer Kissas (right) with Dr. Gladys Diaz (left), Dr. Rey Alcisto (second from left), and patient.