In this first editorial I am writing as President of the APO, I would first of all like to thank my colleagues who agreed to stand alongside me for the Association’s various governing bodies and to help bring this mission to a successful conclusion. I would also like to thank all the members who placed their trust in this executive committee and cast their votes for us.
I would also like to pay a fitting tribute to the previous board, which has steered the APO so well over the last three years, and, in particular, to Dr Conceição Monteiro as its chair. They have left us a legacy of competence and dedication, setting the bar at a level of excellence that will be hard to surpass, despite the adverse conditions we are currently facing, particularly in our relations with the pharmaceutical industry and medical device companies, driven by the national and European legal frameworks that regulate them.
This unfavourable legal framework significantly hampers the development of training activities by scientific associations and necessitates the taking of precautions in their organisation. The first of these precautions is to avoid the peak season for the hotel industry by bringing forward the national congress to late March or early April, and to try to space it out from the date of the SPORL Congress, which takes place in May. Accordingly, the next APO National Congress will take place from 26 to 28 March 2020.
Another aim of this committee is to adopt a broader approach to the topics covered at scientific meetings, seeking to combine vestibular science with audiology and central otoneurological pathology, whilst not overlooking the latest scientific innovations and technological advances. Scientific research will also be a priority for this committee, with the aim of inspiring younger colleagues to strive for greater depth of knowledge and innovation.
Another of this department’s objectives is to establish “Hearing Day”, with the aim of raising awareness amongst the general public of the social and relational importance of this sense, the risks of exposure to occupational and recreational noise, and the importance of early rehabilitation for hearing loss in maintaining a socially active life and in preventing dementia.
