Carving a path to future during “year from hell”

A Central Coast mother of three has put aside the pain of personal tragedy to make a commitment to train the next generation of audiometrists.

While most locals were celebrating the end of the pandemic in 2023, Lori Brown was grieving the loss of her close friend and business partner, managing a hearing clinic on her own, and dealing with a debilitating stroke suffered by her 51-year-old husband.

Despite the challenges, she found the strength to forge ahead with her dream of becoming an audiometry teacher at TAFE NSW and was named Vocational Student of the Year at the recent Hunter-Central Coast NSW Training Awards for her studies during her “year from hell”.

She will now compete against all regional winners at the NSW State Training Awards in July.

Now midway through her first year as an audiometry teacher for TAFE Digital, Brown said “sheer determination” and a passion for spreading awareness about hearing loss and providing personalised health care spurred her to join the teaching ranks.

“I owned my own clinic for more than a decade but I always wanted to teach,” she said.

“Even after our business partner died and my husband had a major stroke, I was still determined to teach … I even did my TAFE NSW training assessment course from my husband’s bedside in the hospital.”

According to a report by Audiology Australia, hearing loss is the fourth largest contributor to years lived with a disability, costing the Australian health system $1B annually.

Brown said the ageing population meant hearing loss was set to become an even bigger issue, with TAFE NSW ideally positioned to train the workforce of the future.

“There are so many facets to the industry and no two days are the same,” she said.

“There are so many (hearing testing) retail chains opening up but it’s also an industry where a qualified audiometrist can open their own business.

“And there’s so much demand for audiometrists in regional areas, our graduates can easily walk into internships.”

Brown said the Diploma of Audiometry through TAFE Digital was delivered via a “study at your own pace” method, with online interactive virtual sessions with teaching staff, as well as practical workshops, allowing students to undertake the course when and where it best suited them from all over Australia.

Units in the course include ear health, understanding the ear, how to conduct a hearing test, hearing rehabilitation, setting up hearing aids and client motivation.