Sethabile Mbotho

• Experience with managing and running Audiology department.
• Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to ensure comprehensive care for patients with hearing and balance disorders.
• Profession and patient advocacy through organized talks, collaboration on patient management.
• Practical knowledge in basic audiological assessment in both adult and pediatric patients.
• Improved patient satisfaction by providing thorough evaluations and personalized treatment plans.
• Experience in management of patients with hearing loss through fitting of hearing aids and aural rehabilitation
• Practical knowledge in aural rehabilitation including assessment and management in pediatric and adult population
• Experience with working with special population which include Autism Spectrum Disorders, Down Syndrome, and Cerebral palsy
• Management of tinnitus through tinnitus rehabilitation therapy and wax management through irrigation and manual removal
• Provided school based hearing screening on outreach for health promotion and community based rehabilitation to ensure accessible audiology service for all.
• Experience in running group sessions including cerebral palsy clinic
• Experience in organizing health promotion to ensure public awareness of audiology services.
• Collaborated with medical officers in assessment and management of outer and middle ear disorders, ensuring proper follow ups and referrals.
• Performed vestibular testing to diagnose and treat balance disorders, improving patient quality of life.
• Increased clinic efficiency by streamlining appointment scheduling and record-keeping processes.
• Motivated for department's budget.
• Educated patients and families on proper use and maintenance of hearing aids, leading to improved device performance and user satisfaction.
• Participated in ongoing professional development opportunities to maintain current knowledge of best practices within audiology field.
• Established trust with diverse patient populations through effective communication techniques tailored to individual needs.
• Regularly updated patient records, ensuring accuracy and accessibility for future appointments or referrals.
• Implemented successful tinnitus management strategies, alleviating symptoms for numerous patients.
• Provided compassionate support to patients experiencing emotional stress related to their hearing loss journey.
• Enhanced patient outcomes through continuous education on latest advancements in audiology research and technology.
• Took ear impressions and molds, ordered instruments, and fitted devices, making adjustments for comfort and optimal functionality.

• Contributed to a positive team environment by collaborating with fellow students on group assignments and presentations and actively participated in team meetings, offering insightful suggestions that led to innovative problem-solving strategies.
• Assessment of special and difficult to test population using objective assessment such as screening/ diagnostic OAE, ABR and ASSR and exposed to sedation protocols.
• Basic audiological assessment of adult patients and hearing aid evaluation and hearing aid fitting for adult population.
• Assessment of basic through Otoscopy, tympanometry, diagnostic acoustic reflexes, pure-tone and speech audiometry (SAT,SRT,SDL), Special investigations- acoustic reflex decay, tone decay test, SISI, Eustachian tube dysfunction test.
• Gained hands-on experience in various hearing aid software programs and fitting of different types of hearing aids which includes BTE hearing aids and bone conduction hearing aids, increasing proficiency and expanding technical skill set.
• HAE- determining MCLs and UCLs, performing real ear measures.
• Management of different types of hearing losses- Conductive, Mixed and sensorinural hearing loss.
• Placement in tertiary hospital working with different multidisciplinary teams including otolaryngologists, speech therapists, medical officers in management of patients
• Community based Rehabilitation which includes health promotion, hearing screening, relevant referrals, wax management, and educational counseling.
• Hearing screening of special population.
• Aural rehabilitation based in pediatric population in school for the deaf and geriatric population in old age homes which include both assessment and patient orientated management
• Assessment and management of outer and middle ear disorders which include monitoring and making appropriate referrals
• Assessment of vestibular disorders and implementing vestibular rehabilitation Therapy, ensuring patient focused care and providing support to patients with balance disorders.
• Vestibular disorders assessed through bedside assessment and VNG.
• Conducting cochlear implant workup to determine cochlear implant candidacy and adhering to set protocols.
• Research conducting through exploring different topics relevant to development of knowledge in audiology field and ensuring continuation of development.
• Conducting newborn/neonatal hearing screening in maternity and NICU wards to ensure early hearing detection and intervention, identification of at-risk individuals.
• Experience with ordering of hearing aids and communicating with different stake holders.
• Occupational audiology

• Basic audiological assessment and management of different population including special population, difficult to test and adult patient
• Diagnostic ABR and ASSR assessment
• Hearing aid troubleshooting including reprogramming, earmold impression taking, and hearing aid orientation
• Hearing aid fitting with exposure to different programming softwares
• Exposure to working with oncology patients on chemotherapy treatment
• Hearing screening through conventional audiometry and OAE screening.
• Exposure to administration through documentation of patients and hearing devices statistics.
• Experience in working in interdisciplinary team.

- Basic assessment (adult) through use of Kudu Wave and proposing management that is appropriate to patient.

-Record keeping.

-Hearing aid evaluation and hearing aid fitting

-Making appropriate referrals to ENT.

- Discussing patients with other team members for possible intervention.