General Info

Robert Novak, PhD, is a certified audiologist (CCC-A) who specializes in the areas of adult hearing loss, hearing loss prevention, hearing aids and associated auditory rehabilitation, and family-centered counseling related to the treatment and prevention of hearing loss. As director of audiology at UC San Diego Health, Dr. Novak oversees the care and services provided to patients with hearing, balance and other auditory disorders. He also leads the audiology programs new clinical and learning initiatives. Among his areas of interest and expertise are adult aural rehabilitation, hearing conservation, and improvement of patient access to audiology and hearing aid services, including the use of the telehealth/teleaudiology mode of audiology service delivery. A recognized expert and educator in audiology, Dr. Novak has served in a variety of national leadership positions, including the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) vice president for Standards and Ethics in Audiology, member and chair of the ASHA Council for Clinical Certification in audiology and speech-language pathology, and a member and site visitor for the ASHA Council for Academic Accreditation for programs in audiology and speech-language pathology. He has served on both the San Diego City and San Diego County Noise Abatement Boards.Dr. Novak is extensively published and frequently speaks at national conferences. His recent research interests include increasing access to new hearing aid technologies for the majority of individuals with hearing loss through interprofessional education (IPE)/interprofessional practice (IPP) teleaudiology personnel preparation and service delivery; hearing aid benefit and quality of life in vulnerable patient populations; and the effects of appropriate hearing aid intervention on self-perceived hearing handicap reduction. He is also interested in multicultural issues in communication disorders, environmental noise mitigation, and the related effects on communication and life quality in hard of hearing residents in senior retirement communities.Before joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. Novak was founding director of the Center of Excellence in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a tenured professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to that, he served as head of the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University, where he facilitated the development of their doctoral audiology program in collaboration with the Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. While at Purdue, Dr. Novak also facilitated the building of Lyles-Porter Hall, dedicated to house one the nations top speech, language and hearing sciences training and research programs. Dr. Novak has also served as speech pathology and audiology program director at the University of Virginia and was a tenured professor and department administrator in the Department of Communication Disorders at San Diego State University. Dr. Novak earned a doctoral degree in audiology from The University of Iowa, where he also obtained a masters degree. He holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.Outside of work, Dr. Novak enjoys spending time with family and friends, the beach, music, theater and reading. His other hobbies include classic cars and sports. He is also very interested in efforts to help conquer homelessness in San Diego.UC San Diego Health LinksFor more information, see https://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/Pages/audiology.aspx.