From Helicopters to Hearing Aids

Abstract

You have accessThe ASHA LeaderIn the Limelight1 Mar 2020From Helicopters to Hearing AidsAn audiologist uses his military experience to support legislation allowing people with hearing loss to serve. Shelley D. Hutchins Shelley D. Hutchins Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.1044/leader.LML.25032020.26 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favorites ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In David Alexander knew as a boy he wanted to serve his country. The son of a Marine also wanted to be a pediatrician. In high school, he discovered the Armed Services’ Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program would pay for college. Shortly after starting Loyola University Maryland as pre-med, Alexander realized that path wasn’t for him. “I still wanted to do something related,” he says. “So I literally read through the course catalog and picked communication sciences and disorders (CSD).” Alexander graduated in 2002 as an Army officer headed to helicopter flight training. Although he enjoyed piloting Blackhawks, he couldn’t shake the “medical itch.” In 2009, he met a University of South Dakota audiology professor while giving CSD undergrads his ROTC pitch. The professor encouraged Alexander to complete his audiology degree. Now an audiologist at Virginia Head and Neck Surgeons and serving in the Army Reserves, Alexander applies his piloting skills and experience to his current work. Applying military skills Many skills Alexander used as a pilot enhance his audiology work. Close attention to detail is an obvious overlap. Less so is his willingness to ask others for support. This helped when performing newborn hearing screenings at Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD), where he began in 2015. “Counseling parents was tough, and some parents would get quite emotional,” Alexander says. “I tapped into my ability to ask a more experienced audiologist when I didn’t know how to do something.“ Proving a point Alexander worked with MSD students in a junior cadet program. “We taught leadership training and drill work, which is all about communication,” he says. “In the military this is all verbal command, but we developed hand and arm signs with American Sign Language to do the same marching formations. Our cadets were invited to Fort Jackson in South Carolina to participate in boot camp for a few days. Our students did everything. And they figured out ways to communicate with each other and work together as one big group. The Army mantra happened in front of our eyes— ‘One team, one fight.’” Changing his mind Keith Nolan, a teacher, approached Alexander shortly after he started at MSD. “He is deaf and wanted to join the military,” Alexander says. “He asked what I thought about deaf people serving in the military. I gave a non-answer, but thought to myself it was impossible. But Keith showed me research he’d done on deaf soldiers in the Israeli Defense Force. I then thought—why haven’t we done this already?!” Advocating for change After Keith Nolan convinced Alexander that people who are deaf can serve in the military, the two worked together. “I helped Keith almost pass a bill allowing for a demonstration program of about 20 soldiers who are deaf to serve in the Air Force. It got close last year ... it made it out of the House Armed Services Committee and passed in the House as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), but never made it into the Senate version. It was positive progress, really positive.” Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Additional Resources FiguresSourcesRelatedDetails Volume 25Issue 2March 2020 Get Permissions Add to your Mendeley library History Published in print: Feb 28, 2020 Metrics Downloaded 483 times Topicsasha-topicsleader_do_tagleader-topicsasha-article-typesCopyright & Permissions© 2020 American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationLoading ...