International Bureau for Audiophonologie

 

Scientific Society established by Belgian Royal Decree on March 24th, 1967.

Secretary-General
Dr. Laurent Demanez
CHU Sart Tilman - ENT dept.
B-4000  Liege  Belgium
Tel : +32 4 3667270
Fax : +32 4 3667525
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

The International Bureau for Audiophonology is made up of delegates from societies, national or regional audiophonology committees, international professional associations (for those disciplines listed in the definition of audiophonology) and associate members. International experts are called upon to provide opinions and take part in the drafting of recommendations which are then disseminated through the BIAP secretariate. Delegates, associate members and international experts work together on specific themes, in the framework of specialised technical commissions. These commissions and the activities they carry out are one of the key elements of BIAP; a description of their functioning is available in the Internal Rules n°6. The competence of the experts and representativeness of the delegates coming from societies, committees and associations are two key aspects that BIAP has always considered crucial and tried to preserve.

Every year, a convention is held on the week-end of May 1st. During that event, BIAP members have the opportunity to:

-exchange points of vue on issues that are specific to their respective disciplines
-finalize the wording and contents of the draft recommendations
-devise joint action strategies in order to improve the quality and coordination of care.

The CONVENTION is also a golden opportunity for professionals with different backgrounds to exchange ideas. Various disciplines are represented, namely individuals:

-with a medical background (otorhinolaryngology, phoniatrics, neuropsychiatry)
-with a paramedical background (speech therapy, hearing aid audiologist, psychology, clinic)
-with a pedagogical background (teachers working with hearing-impaired patients, specialised educators)
-working in the field of fundamental disciplines (linguistics, phonetics, physics).

The BIAP recommendations are the end-result of in-depth discussions and interdisciplinary exchanges. They have been designed, studied and finalized by recognized experts and later endorsed by BIAP members. For all these reasons, they are valuable documents that can prove extremely useful to all individuals who wish to have their own national laws, decrees or regulations modified.

 

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Definition of Audiophonology

Audiophonoly is the science of hearing, phonation, speech and human language. It includes the anatomical, physiological, psychological, acoustic, phonetic, lingusitic and sociological aspects of communication. The care-taking of communication disorders involves five disciplines: medicine, pedagogy, speech therapy, psychology and hearing aid audiology.