ABA Ethics, Safety & Professional Practice 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An audiologist receives a gift worth $150 from a hearing aid manufacturer after purchasing a large supply of their devices. According to ethical guidelines, what is the most appropriate response?
- Accept the gift as it is common industry practice
- Decline or return the gift to avoid conflicts of interest (Correct answer)
- Accept the gift but disclose it to patients
- Donate the gift to charity to neutralize the conflict
Correct answer: Decline or return the gift to avoid conflicts of interest
Accepting gifts from manufacturers creates conflicts of interest that can compromise clinical objectivity and violate ethical guidelines.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes the concept of 'nonmaleficence' as it applies to audiology practice?
- Treating all patients equally regardless of their ability to pay
- Avoiding harm to patients through negligent or intentional actions (Correct answer)
- Providing care that benefits the patient's overall well-being
- Respecting patient decisions even when the audiologist disagrees
Correct answer: Avoiding harm to patients through negligent or intentional actions
Nonmaleficence means 'do no harm' — audiologists must avoid actions that cause unnecessary harm to patients.
Question 3: When performing otoacoustic emission (OAE) testing on neonates, what is the primary safety consideration regarding probe insertion?
- Ensuring the probe tip is large enough to create a tight seal
- Using appropriate probe tip size and gentle insertion to avoid canal trauma (Correct answer)
- Increasing stimulus intensity to obtain cleaner responses
- Bypassing calibration to shorten testing time for newborn comfort
Correct answer: Using appropriate probe tip size and gentle insertion to avoid canal trauma
Neonatal ear canals are delicate; using the correct probe tip size and gentle technique prevents trauma during OAE testing.
Question 4: An audiologist suspects they may have made a diagnostic error that delayed a patient's treatment. What is the ethical obligation?
- Say nothing unless the patient specifically asks about any errors
- Disclose the error to the patient and document it appropriately (Correct answer)
- Quietly correct the records to reflect the accurate diagnosis
- Consult with a colleague but keep the matter confidential from the patient
Correct answer: Disclose the error to the patient and document it appropriately
Ethical practice requires transparency; audiologists must disclose errors to patients and document them accurately.
Question 5: A patient with significant cognitive decline is accompanied by an adult child who asks the audiologist not to discuss the diagnosis directly with the patient. What should the audiologist do?
- Comply fully with the family member's request to avoid conflict
- Assess the patient's capacity and communicate directly with the patient to the extent possible (Correct answer)
- Redirect all communication through the adult child for efficiency
- Refuse to treat the patient without a formal guardianship order
Correct answer: Assess the patient's capacity and communicate directly with the patient to the extent possible
Patient autonomy must be respected to the extent the patient retains capacity; communication should involve the patient as much as possible.
Question 6: According to OSHA standards, which of the following best protects an audiologist from occupational noise exposure while conducting hearing conservation program audiometry?
- Relying on the audiometric booth to provide sufficient attenuation
- Using personal hearing protection when ambient noise levels are excessive during testing (Correct answer)
- Limiting daily testing to fewer than 8 patients to reduce cumulative exposure
- Scheduling testing in the morning before industrial noise begins
Correct answer: Using personal hearing protection when ambient noise levels are excessive during testing
OSHA requires audiologists to use hearing protection when occupational noise exposure exceeds permissible limits.
Question 7: A supervisee asks their clinical supervisor to sign off on a session the supervisor did not observe. What is the most appropriate response?
- Sign off if the supervisee has a strong track record
- Decline to sign off, as signing unobserved sessions is unethical and potentially fraudulent (Correct answer)
- Review the supervisee's session notes and then sign off
- Ask another colleague to sign off to avoid direct involvement
Correct answer: Decline to sign off, as signing unobserved sessions is unethical and potentially fraudulent
Signing documentation for sessions not observed constitutes fraudulent attestation and violates ethical and legal standards.
ABA Ethics, Safety & Professional Practice 3
An audiologist receives a gift worth $150 from a hearing aid manufacturer after purchasing a large supply of their devices.
According to ethical guidelines, what is the most appropriate response?