A Study on the Genesis of Audiology

The profession of physical therapy began in the early part of the 20th century during World War I. The profession developed in response to the horrible injuries that soldiers sustained during the military conflict. These therapists were referred to as “reconstruction aides,” due to the nature of their role in the treatment of injuries. Similarly, our profession—audiology—began in response to the injuries to the ears of soldiers returning from World War II and the resulting hearing impairments.

This month, we have a real treat. In this issue, in a piece titled, “First PhD and AuD Programs in Audiology,” Dr. James Jerger gives us a rare peek at the history of audiology. In particular, he offers a history lesson featuring those individuals who constituted the first cohort of audiology PhD graduates. Further, he describes what graduate school was like in the earliest days of modern audiology before the advent of computers. In addition, Dr. Jerger describes how important Dr. Raymond Carhart was to the genesis of our profession. Dr. Carhart was our link to the inception of audiology in the same manner that Dr. Jerger is our link to the origin of modern audiology.

The latter part of this history lesson is a description of Dr. David Goldstein and his vision of audiology as a “doctoring” profession. Dr. Jerger describes how the AuD evolved, how his program at Baylor University became the site of the first AuD program, and the unfortunate and eventual demise of the Baylor program.

The editors are certain that you will enjoy this offering.

Publication History

Article published online:
11 July 2022