Dear colleagues,
Between the 12th and 14th of September 2019, we had the joy of meeting in a special academic and cultural setting offered by the Palace of Culture in Iaşi, on the occasion of the First National Congress of the young Romanian Society of Audiology and Communication Pathology (SRAPC) dedicated both to its members, as well as to all colleagues interested in the field of audiology, vestibulology and communication pathology.
Since its foundation – in 2014 – until now, SRAPC had a sustained activity, organizing numerous specialized courses in the field of audiology and vestibulology, participating in the development of healthcare for patients with deafness in collaboration with the Ministry of Health or being an active partner of other non-governmental associations with a role in developing specialized care for children with cochlear implant. SRAPC has become an affiliated member of the European Federation of Audiology Societies and member of the International Society of Audiology since 2016.
The rapid development of audiology on a global level and the increasing interest of the specialists for professional performance motivated the organization of scientific events that have a strong emphasis on practical sessions and instructional courses. Also, in Romania, new opportunities have been opened by expanding the screening of deafness to newborns on a national scale, the need for audiology specialists becoming more acute than ever.
In this regard, during the three days of our congress, there were numerous instructional courses, conferences, round tables and lectures with practical applications on interesting topics such as: the early identification of hearing loss (screening and diagnosis) in newborns, modern means of audiological and vestibular diagnosis, conventional hearing prosthesis solutions, cochlear implant in auditory-verbal rehabilitation, genetics of deafness, implantable prostheses with bone transmission, auditory electrophysiology, pediatric audiology, auditory neuropathy spectrum disorders, retrocochlear pathology, dizziness syndromes and balance disorders, cognitive decline and dementia in relation to hearing loss, central auditory pathology, third window syndrome, and many others.
On behalf of the SRAPC Steering Committee, I would like, first of all, to thank all the participants who, through their interest in audiology, outlined this first event of the society worthy of a promising pioneering. We also thank all the invited guest lecturers from abroad, personalities and audiology professionals from France, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Austria, Slovakia and the Republic of Moldova, who have made us the honor of participating, along with lecturers from our country, at valuable conferences on topics of great interest, contributing to the enrichment of our experiences and updating the working methods that we will apply in the future. We were honored to have well-known audiology personalities, such as Prof. Dr. Hung Thai Van, the current president of the French Audiology Society and research team leader at the Paris Hearing Institute, Prof. Dr. Edilene Boechat, Board Director of the International Society of Audiology (2012-2018), former President of the Brazilian Academy of Audiology (2013-2015) and next elected President of the International Bureau for Audiophonology (2020), and Monica Jubran Chapchap, former President of the Brazilian Association of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (1990-2013) and Board Director of IERASG (International Evoked Response Audiometry Study Group).
This first congress also constituted the first occasion for the recognition of the activity and professionalism of some personalities from Romania, who made efforts to develop audiology. Thus, SRAPC honored with diplomas of excellence “for outstanding contributions to the development of audiology education in Romania and the implementation of the latest methods of diagnosis and treatment of deafness and balance disorders” the following: Prof. Dr. Dan Mârţu, Conf. Dr. Mădălina Georgescu, Lecturer Dr. Violeta Necula, eng. Ion Mareş, Lecturer Dr. Luigi Mărceanu, Dr. Alexandru Pascu, aud. Anca Modan, Dr. Rodica Mureşan, Dr. Alexandra Neagu, and Lecturer Dr. Simona Şerban.
Our thanks go also to the sponsors of this congress, who understood the need for the development of audiology in Romania, and we hope to join us in future editions.
We concluded this congress enriched professionally, but also with the desire to repeat this beautiful experience next year. The Romanian Society of Audiology and Communication Pathology is waiting for you at the courses and congresses it organizes, trying to give you interesting and valuable information in the field of audiology and vestibulology.
With best wishes,
Sebastian Cozma, MD, PhD
President of Romanian Society of Audiology
and Communication Disorders,
Associate Professor, ENT Department of “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iaşi, Romania,
Head of Audiology and Vestibulogy Department –
Clinical Rehabilitation Hospital Iaşi,
Member of the International Bureau of Audiophonology (BIAP)