About Us

Our Mission

The mission of The Kooser Program is to enhance and empower the life of individuals with hearing loss and their families through education and support services.


 

What is The Kooser Program?

The Kooser Program was developed by licensed independent social worker, Cathy Kooser, who has a severe hearing loss.  It is an educational program designed to provide relevant information about the significant and hidden impact hearing loss has on an individual and their family.

The Kooser Program is a division of Southwest Ohio ENT Specialists and Hillcrest Hearing Aids & Balance Center.

The program was developed as a direct result of Cathy's personal struggles and together with relevant research, supplies insight into the human element of hearing loss.  It is provided as a one-day seminar or in a class format and is intended for teenagers and adults 15 years of age and older.  The program has been in existence since 1999 and thousands of people have participated.

 

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Cathy's Story

Hearing loss is a subject very near and dear to my heart. As a young woman, my severe hearing loss caused significant emotional pain. I remember feeling a deep sense of sadness, anger, embarrassment and frustration. I felt all alone, as if no one, not even my loved ones, understood what I was going through.

Eventually I realized I needed help dealing with all of the negative emotions I was experiencing, but had a difficult time finding it. Very few mental health professionals are educated about the psychosocial impact of hearing loss. 

I found that most programs available were for those who are deaf –I was not deaf.

After much searching, I was able to locate a counselor who was knowledgeable about this issue. I found the counseling to be very beneficial. Consequently, I decided to return to school so I could help others as I had been helped.  After graduating with a degree in social work, I developed The Kooser Program and have continued to refine it over the years.

“Although hearing loss plays a role in shaping and defining those of us who experience it, we cannot let it stop us from becoming who we are meant to be, nor from living the lives we are meant to live!”
Cathy Kooser

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Bios

Cathy Kooser is a licensed independent social worker who has a severe hearing loss.  Using her own personal struggles as well as relevant research, she developed and teaches this counseling based, group audiological rehabilitation program.  The program is designed to educate both the individual and their family about the significant and hidden impact of hearing loss.

Cathy obtained her bachelor’s degree in social work in 1998 from Wright State University; her master’s degree in social work in 2004 from the University of Cincinnati; and has been an employee of Southwest Ohio ENT Specialists and Hillcrest Hearing Aids & Balance Center since 2003.

She received 2nd place in the Practitioner category for the 2010 Oticon Focus on People Awards. Cathy was the recipient of the Spirit of Community Award presented by the University of Cincinnati’s School of Social Work and also the Judith R. Holm Excellence in Training Award, presented by the Ohio Clinical Social Work Society.

She is a member of the American Academy of Audiologists, National Rehabilitation Association, Academy of Rehabilitative Audiologists, National Association of Social Workers, the Ohio Rehabilitation Association, and Hearing Loss Association of America.


Leslie Iannarino joined THE KOOSER PROGRAM in April, 2006. As an employee of Southwest Ohio ENT Specialists and Hillcrest Hearing Aids & Balance Center, she brings a variety of office managerial skills to her position as Program Director. Leslie is a graduate of the University of Dayton with an Associate's Degree in Business Administration. Her twenty plus years of experience include the duties of an assistant Athletic Director and fundraising coordinator for a local high school; administrative assistant and grant coordinator in a local hospital; office manager and program administrator for two other local businesses.

"With the desire to be involved in a project to 'make a difference in a person's life', a year long search brought me to THE KOOSER PROGRAM."

Leslie works closely with Cathy Kooser in the continuous updating and revising of the seminar materials to present the most accurate information available.  She also provides the necessary managerial skills to maintain the promotion, scheduling and presentation of this program.

Leslie is also a member of the Hearing Loss Association of America and helped facilitate the first HLAA Walk4Hearing in Dayton, Ohio in 2009 and co-chaired the event in 2010.  She remains active in this event to help raise awareness about hearing loss.


Additional Southwest Ohio ENT Specialists and     Hillcrest Hearing Aids & Balance Center staff    associated with The Kooser Program:


William J.D. Turner, M.D.; physician on staff at Southwest Ohio ENT Specialists, is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of California, San Diego in San Diego, California in 1998, and joined ENT Associates after his residency. Dr. Turner was certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology in 1998. His specific areas of interest include the medical and surgical treatment of patients with hearing and balance disorders, and chronic sinus and nasal disease in adults and children. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Division of Otolaryngology at Wright State university School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Turner is the Director of the Cochlear Implant Program and performs the majority of cochlear implants in the Dayton area.

Maryann Heider, M.Ed., CCC-A has been with Hillcrest Hearing Aids since 1984. She is a licensed, and certified Audiologist with a masters degree in Audiology from Northeastern University. While at NU she also completed a sign language interpreter training program and did her clinical fellowship in Audiology at Gallaudet College in Washington, D.C. which is the world's only liberal arts college for deaf students.

Maryann is involved in promoting hearing health awareness through her presence at area health fairs, school programs, TV and radio programming. She was instrumental in the development of Hillcrest Hearing Aids nationally recognized aural rehabilitation program "The Kooser Program: The Hidden Impact of Hearing Loss". She writes a monthly column in the publication "The Chronicle". She is the voice of HIllcrest promoting hearing health awareness on radio stations WHIO 1290 AM and 95.7 FM.

She is dedicated to helping people improve their quality of life through better hearing. She maintains active membership in the American Speech Language Hearing Association, International Hearing Society, Ohio, Speech Hearing Association, American Tinnitus Association, Hearing Loss Association, and the American Academy of Audiology.


Felicia Boubon, Au.D. has received her doctorate in Audiology from Arizona School of Health and hearing Sciences. She has been with Hillcrest Hearing Aids since 1985. Felicia's primary focus through the years has been on amplification and hearing rehabilitation.

Felicia has been actively involved in the education of students, hearing health care providers and patients in regard to current technology trends and amplification fitting methods. She has been a clinical site supervisor and a mentor for Miami University Audiology graduate students. She served as education chair person for the Ohio Hearing Aid Society and currently is an instructor in Hillcrest Hearing Aid's The Kooser Program: The Hidden Impact of Hearing Loss class. She also has been on several education committees of the International Hearing Society. She received the Dispenser of the year award from the Ohio Hearing Aids Society in 1997.

Felicia has served a term as an Audiology member on the Ohio Board of Speech Pathology and Audiology and two terms on the hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Licensing Board.

Felicia is an active member in the Ohio Hearing Aids Society, International Hearing Society, American Academy of Audiology, American Hearing and Speech Association, A.G. Bell Association and Academy of Dispensing Audiologists.

Erin Thomas has a Masters of Arts from the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Science degree from Illinois State University.

Mrs. Thomas has been with Southwest Ohio ENT Specialists since 2003. She has worked as an audiologist for eleven years. Mrs. Thomas does a significant amount of neurodiagnostic testing and has worked with hearing aids, cochlear implants, and central auditory processing testing as well as facilitating aural rehabilitation classes. She is a native of the Miami Valley area and is a member of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association and the Ohio Speech-Language Hearing Association.


Terry Stivers is the business manager for Hillcrest Hearing Aids and Balance Center. Terry served 4.5 years in the U.S. Air Force as a staff Sergeant and served in Turkey, where she met her husband, Steve.

Much of her time is spent actively expanding our services, which include the addition of a social worker who developed "The Kooser Program: The Hidden Impact of Hearing Loss" workshop, an Allergy Department and a Cochlear Implant program. She works closely with area businesses and physicians to continue the strong medical and professional services for both Ear, Nose and Throat Associates of Greater Dayton and Hillcrest Hearing Aids, who are known throughout the greater Miami Valley area for their excellence in service and experience.

Terry is very active in the Association of Otolaryngology Administrators, serving as a State Representative, Regional Coordinator and currently serving as Junior Member-at-Large on the Leadership Council and Executive Committee. In 2005 Terry obtained her Certification in Otolaryngology Practice management from the Association of Otolaryngology Administrators.

Professional Organizations: Association of Otolaryngology Administrators, Miami Valley Medical Group Managers Association, American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Ohio State Medical Association.

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