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Semin Hear 2004; 25(1): 81-92
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-823050
Copyright © 2004 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

What Are Standards - and Why Do I Care?

Laura Ann Wilber1
  • 1Professor of Audiology and Hearing Sciences, Professor of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University, Wilmette, Illinois
A Dedication to Tom Tillman This article is dedicated to Tom Tillman, who was my teacher, my colleague, and my friend. Tom taught me how to check the calibration of audiometric equipment (back in the days when we used volt meters, multiplied the output voltage by k factors and used log tables to determine dB SPL) and why that was important. He introduced me to the standards used for calibration of audiometers. Much later, I had the pleasure of working with him when he chaired the Council on Professional Standards of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. His warm manner, his humor, his intelligence and his leadership were invaluable as that council began its work. He even told me about standards for judging chickens…but that is another story. We miss him, but we shall not forget him. Tom always insisted that work be done carefully and correctly. He was truly a gentleman and a scholar, and a man who inspired his many students.