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As Emily E. McMahan, AuD ‘13, listened to the description of the recipient of the 2025 Leo Doerfler Award at the recent Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) awards presentation, she realized she knew the recipient pretty well.
Because it was her the award presenter was describing.
“I was completely stunned. The only indication that I was receiving something is I was told I ‘needed to attend’ a specific session versus an alternative. I had no idea what they were up to,” said Dr. McMahan, owner of Alaska Hearing and Tinnitus Center, a full-service, diagnostic private practice with an emphasis on serving patients with tinnitus.
She was selected for the award for her excellence in tinnitus evaluation and treatment, her role in establishing clinical standards, and her dedication to patient-centered, evidence-based care.
The award recognizes outstanding clinical services in the community. According to the ADA, it is named after Dr. Doerfler, a pioneer who left academia to champion independent private practice and the Doctor of Audiology degree and whose career defined excellence in patient care and an unwavering commitment to audiologists’ independence.
Dr. McMahan’s nominators for the award were Dr. Amyn Amlani, ADA president, Dr. Jill Davis, ADA president-elect, and Dr. Jason Leyendecker, ADA immediate past president.
“She doesn’t just provide outstanding clinical services in her community, she provides outstanding clinical services in communities across the nation, through in‑person and telehealth services,” said Dr. Amlani during the awards presentation, held in conjunction with the 2025 AuDacity Conference Sept. 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C. “She calls Alaska her home, but is licensed in states across the country, where she delivers outstanding tinnitus evaluation and treatment services and also delivers evidence-based training and resources for audiologists serving tinnitus patients.”
Dr. McMahan has been instrumental in shepherding the creation of clinical practice standards for tinnitus and is a past president of the Audiology Practice Standards Organization (APSO) and currently serves on the board of directors for the American Tinnitus Association.
In addition, Dr. McMahan is part of the first real-world analysis of U.S. patients treated with Lenire, the only FDA-approved bimodal neuromodulation treatment device for tinnitus.
Her manuscript, co-authored with Hubert Lim, PhD, chief scientific officer of Neuromod (creator of Lenire) at the University of Minnesota, is titled "Effectiveness of Bimodal Neuromodulation for Tinnitus Treatment in Real-World Clinical Settings in the United States” and is the first and only tinnitus management device in the U.S. to have FDA approval and to be considered efficacious and non-experimental.
To make the Doerfler Award even more special, Dr. McMahan’s husband and children were on hand for her acceptance.
“It’s an incredible honor and one that I wasn’t expecting,” said Dr. McMahan, who was also named George S. Osborne College of Audiology Alumna of the Year from the Salus University Alumni Association in June 2025. “Thank you to those who nominated me and the board who considered and chose me.”
