March is Women’s History Month and we’re excited for you to meet Dr. Kathryn Miles Jackson, an Audiologist who owns her own private practice in Greenville, South Carolina, where she provides direct access to specialty care.
Dr. Jackson’s emphasis on providing her patients with resources and her mission to look for ways in which she can help her fellow audiologists to improve their services and provide the highest level of care to the deaf and hard of hearing community immediately resonated with us at InnoCaption.
We were so excited to have the opportunity to connect with her and learn more about why she wanted to become an audiologist and why providing patients with resources is an essential part of her practice.
From as early as the first grade, I remember being interested in American Sign Language. I had the opportunity to become fairly fluent in middle & high school learning from a professional interpreter at my church. I spent my high school years interpreting our church service for Deaf people, and got to know some Deaf people in my community at a neighboring high school. I had always thought that I wanted to become a teacher -- my grandmother and mother were teachers, and with my knowledge of ASL and interest in working with people who are deaf or hard of hearing, I thought it was a natural fit. I went to college to become a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, and as part of my degree program I took a pediatric audiology course. That piqued my interest in audiology and I never looked back!
As audiologists, we have a fairly wide scope of practice and can work in many different settings - from hospitals, Ear-Nose-and-Throat practices, schools, private practice, and more. When I was a graduate student, my perception was that the ENT setting provided an environment for audiologists to perform the widest range of services, and private practice was focused on hearing aid dispensing and aural rehabilitation. After working in a private practice and now being a private practice owner myself, I've learned that I can provide an even broader range of services in private practice, making it even easier for my community to have direct access to the best audiology care.
As a mother to four young children working outside the home, there have been challenging times. It can be hard to find time to pump for breastfed babies, function on little sleep, and arrange to attend educational events -- but I'm fortunate to have a very supportive husband and extended family. Opening my own private practice has allowed me more flexibility and a better work-life balance. I can be closer to home, to my family, and arrange my schedule to be with my children more easily. I also think that since becoming a mother it's been a little easier to work with pediatric patients -- they can be tricky patients!
I love the relationships we develop with our patients. We get to know their lifestyles, their communication needs, and hear about the relationships that matter the most to them.
Accessibility is important to me, especially for phone calls, and for many people telephone calls are their access to friends & family. My 96-year old grandmother loves to talk on the phone, and as an audiologist, I speak with people every day who cannot understand phone calls easily. This is just one of the reasons why I offer texting to my patients, because everyone should be able to communicate with their healthcare provider easily without having to make a call.
Having spent my entire career in Ear, Nose, and Throat practices, I have an understanding of the medical aspects of audiology. I wanted to be able to provide direct access to specialty care -- including assessment and treatment of dizziness, cochlear implant services, etc. -- in the efficient, comfortable setting of private practice. My practice offers services to people regardless of where they purchased hearing devices. Furthermore, patients starting their journey with new hearing technology at my practice have choices for their follow-up care: they can "bundle" it into their hearing aid purchase, or they can elect to pay for their services as they return for follow-up care.
Technology - specifically Bluetooth connectivity - is making phone communication less cumbersome for patients and is keeping them connected to their loved ones. Remote programming adjustments are helping me assist patients when they are unable to come to the office.
I think most audiologists are educators and advocates for their patients. I personally like to understand the the bigger picture when it comes to my health and the recommendations I receive from my physicians. Likewise, I enjoy teaching my patients to help them understand why and how their hearing loss or dizziness is impacting them, and guide them on what to expect through the treatment process and how to advocate for themselves. When patients understand their diagnosis and the treatment process, fear is reduced and the path forward can be more productive.
It changes during different seasons of life, but currently the quote in my head is "a rising tide lifts all boats." The phrase was originally coined regarding the economy, but I hear it and think about my fellow audiologists and how things are constantly changing in our profession. I am always looking for ways that we can help each other to improve our services and provide the highest level of care to our community.
Dr. Kathryn Miles Jackson, AuD
P: 864-770-8822
InnoCaption provides real-time captioning technology making phone calls easy and accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing community. Offered at no cost to individuals with hearing loss because we are certified by the FCC. InnoCaption is the only mobile app that offers real-time captioning of phone calls through live stenographers and automated speech recognition software. The choice is yours.
InnoCaption proporciona tecnología de subtitulado en tiempo real que hace que las llamadas telefónicas sean fáciles y accesibles para la comunidad de personas sordas y con problemas de audición. Se ofrece sin coste alguno para las personas con pérdida auditiva porque estamos certificados por la FCC. InnoCaption es la única aplicación móvil que ofrece subtitulación en tiempo real de llamadas telefónicas mediante taquígrafos en directo y software de reconocimiento automático del habla. Usted elige.
