Seattle, '23

It had been five years since I attended the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) Convention, which is held in a different city every year.  In 2018 I went to the meeting in Nashville.  Prior, I had gone to the event in D.C., Minneapolis, Denver, Dallas, Chicago, San Diego, Anaheim, and Phoenix.  As time went on, my feelings about it have changed.  Evolved?  Not sure.  Those first years, while I was still a student, were really exciting.  In addition to the high level of session content, there were big parties and concerts (Beach Boys, Joan Jett, The Blues Brothers, The Bangles) thrown by hearing aid manufacturers, sometimes with earplugs.  To say nothing of all the infamous giveaways: Bose headphones, iPods, even Coach purses, a practice that ended abruptly around '08, when the Ethics Board put the kibosh on 'em. 

This year AAA was held in Seattle, a city that left me cold during my previous (and first) visit back in 2009.  How would I feel about it now? After years of reported riots and the ravages of the pandemic shutdown? When I told my patients I was going, several offered concern.  One asked me if I had a firearm.  I'm relieved to report that I had no incidents, but it was obvious that all was not well in The Emerald City.  Lots of boarded up storefronts and poor souls stumbling the streets, many appearing to be deep into mental illness.  Also, a sizable homeless population mostly noted under overpasses parallel to I-5.  

The convention itself was a mixed bag, as they tend to be.  What was most noticeable was the session content, far less erudite than in years past.  I wondered if the material itself was to blame, or if I had just become more knowledgeable.  Smarter? Pffft.   But several modules revealed stagnant research.  Some presenters seemed uncomfortable, maybe unprepared.  I drifted toward talks discussing the hot topic of OTC hearing aids, as well as my usual interests: tinnitus and vestibular testing.  I did take away a few pearls but far less than expected.  I won't single anyone out here, but the sessions seemed rather elementary this go 'round.  Maybe this was congruent with what I perceived as a general catering more toward students than audiologists. 

Socially speaking, this convention ranked fairly well, even though I hardly saw anyone I knew.  I met a woman in her 3rd year at ASU at a Starbucks one morning and an audiologist from Kenya, who gave me his card and invited me to visit his clinic.  I was surprised that many of my mentors, regular attenders, were not there.  Only four of my classmates - some from different years - were.  One of them because she works for a manufacturer.  Another is a prolific researcher who appeared on Wheel of Fortune earlier this year!  I did hang with her and a few other of my grad school compadres at the Friday night party at the Museum of Pop Culture,

a cool destination next to the Space Needle.

Entire rooms are devoted to stop motion animation and music, with local acts like Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana.

There are also recording booths where you can lay down guitar and drum tracks.  A small buffet was laid out for this shindig, and a large video screen played videos by the likes of Prince, Abba, and Miley Cyrus over the dance floor. 

An audiologist friend named Leah, who lives outside the city, invited me to join she and her colleague from Alaska for dinner at Andaluca, an attractive spot downtown whose menu favors Spanish cuisine.  The carrot soup was unique and recommendable, as was the pork chop.  My friend was pleased with her paella.

The convention concluded on Saturday afternoon.  Leah's husband swung by my hotel and got me outta dodge to the country, which was a relief after four plus days of the urbanscape.  He took me to a place in the backwater of Enumclaw called The Mint.  If you ever find yourself in that neck of the woods, get the salmon BLT.  

Next, we walked over to an auto museum known as Thunder Dome, which houses a very impressive array of vintage rides.  Everything from Fiats to De Tomaso Panteras to Shelbys. 

My friends have several horses, with plenty of land on which to roam.  One is a foal, just about six months old.  He will be trained in a custom round tent erected for his development.  There is a also a chicken coop, and Frans was disappointed that only two eggs were produced that day.  Some rather bushy cats roam around as well.   Later he showed me his impressive collection of vinyl, spun on a Fender turntable with a Sunburst finish, and his man cave, in which there is a Chucky doll.  We watched a documentary about Dark Side of the Moon and shared laughs, agreeing that Waters et al. must be aliens, as it's hard to reconcile that mere humans could create such music.  This was a perfect finish for my trip to Washington State. 

Oh, the weather? The sun came out on Wednesday! Otherwise, drizzly and misty and chilly, what I expected.  Suits the atmosphere.  I don't want to diss Seattle yet again but it is not a city with which I have yet fallen in love.  You should check it out though.