Ora Büerkli-Halvey

Ora Büerkli is receiving the Academy’s Samuel F. Lybarger Industry Award for her outstanding contributions to the field of audiology over the past 30 years. As vice president of global audiology for Phonak, she has been instrumental in ensuring a strong audiological perspective in the development of new products and fitting tools, and among the first to initiate controlled clinical trials of product performance -now the standard in our field.

Beyond being an advocate for patient benefit through hearing technology within the industry, her passion for audiology education and service delivery models led her to create a series of white papers known as “Phonak Focus.” Clinical topics include acoustic factors in hearing aid fitting and speech intelligibility in complex listening environments, among others, and were well-received globally.

She initiated the Phonak Pediatric Research Advisory Board which identified the most urgent research and education needs in pediatric audiology from an international perspective. In concert with Drs. Seewald, Gravel, and Bamford, she developed, “Sound Foundations.”This international conference series educates clinicians on new research findings and evidence-based strategies. These conferences and their published proceedings and educational materials have had a significant and positive impact on pediatric health care around the globe. Most recently, Ora has put forth an initiative on family-centered care in adult hearing rehabilitation.

In all, Ora’s leadership and passion for audiology has linked teams at Phonak with the scientific and clinical audiological communities internationally, transforming clinical practice around the world and improving the quality of life of those who have hearing loss.