Kim Cavitt, AuD
Kim Cavitt, AuD is the current President and Owner of Audiology Resources, Inc. She is also the former President of the [[1]] Academy of Doctors of Audiology.
Commentary
Kim Cavitt has published articles in The Hearing Journal [1] as well as in Hearing Health Matters [2].
She is a managing editor of AudiologyOnline. [3]. Her dominance of the trade publications for the hearing aid and audiology industry gives her a unique and far-reaching public platform on policy and business issues affecting patients with hearing loss.
Lobbying
Cavitt is an outspoken advocating for moving hearing aids to an over-the-counter FDA regulatory category, which would benefit the makers of personal sound amplification products (PSAP) such as Bose and other members of the Consumer Technology Association [[2]] lobbying organization. The Academy of Doctors of Audiology, of which Cavitt is a past president, founded a joint venture with IntriCon LLC[4], a PSAP manufacturer which stands to benefit directly from the passage of legislation to re-categorize PSAPs.
This conflict of interest has been strongly opposed by former ADA officials. According to a LinkedIn post entitled "Why I stepped down as Secretary of the Board of The Academy of Doctors of Audiology," audiologist Gabe Pitt wrote:
"I could never wrap my head around why an association that advocates for audiologists and the care we provide to our patients is supportive of a change in regulations that intentionally removes the audiologist form the hearing aid fitting process. ... ADA’s response to this third class of hearing aid seems contradictory to ADA’s missions and values. Furthermore, there are a number of other recent decisions by ADA that the audiology community has had concerns of, including... Entering the hearing aid manufacturing and distribution arena with the creation of EarVenture. Many audiologists were concerned about an audiology association would make a decision to get into the hearing aid manufacturing/dispensing business. Why would an association create a partnership to manufacture and distribute hearing aids?
ADA may say it was help reduce the cost of hearing aids. But most major manufacturers as well as buying groups like AudNet provides hearing aids at lower price points than EarVenture. ... And why is the ADA board now clearly standing up for something that is not in the best interest of audiologists? What other secret relationships are in the works and on the horizon? Judging by recent actions by ADA one can only assume that there must be some other reason that ADA is supporting this 3rd class because it is certainly not to benefit audiologists, or the patients we serve."[5]
