Audiologist
An audiologist is a professional who works with hearing and hearing loss in individuals in many medical settings. A career in audiology can be a lucrative one, with opportunity for advancement to better jobs. Audiologists must undergo extensive training, so they will serve the general public efficiently and compassionately.
An audiologist works in the career field of hearing. Hearing loss, hearing loss prevention, and balance problems are the main areas of a career in audiology. To become an audiologist, one must have obtained a master’s or doctoral degree from a university graduate program. An audiologist will determine whether a patient has a hearing problem, and will decide on the right treatment for the individual. They will determine the right patient treatment by combining a complete medical history with special auditory and vestibular assessments. Depending on the problem, an audiologist can give a variety of treatment to their patients as they see fit.
An audiologist can prescribe, dispense, and aid in the fitting of hearing aids. A primary hearing health provider has the ability to refer their patients to physicians in the proper situation. This could include a time when those people’s problems require medical and/or surgical attention that the audiologist cannot give. An audiologist must know when they can help a patient, and when they need more help than they can give.
Audiologists can have a lucrative career in this branch of medicine, as the opportunities to work in different settings are large. Medical centers can typically employ audiologists. Hospitals are another large setting that an audiologist can work in, as well as typically make a good salary. Audiologists are sometimes considered specialists in their medical field. Private practice settings also employ audiologists, and getting a job in this type of setting can be great for those who like the 9 to 5 lifestyle. Schools, both public and private, have the need for audiologists whenever they perform physicals and evaluations on their students. Audiologists can also work in universities for the same reasons.
There are many other areas where an audiologist can work. Rehabilitation or speech and hearing centers are a few such places; public clinics, health maintenance organizations, and nursing homes are other businesses where they can be employed. An audiologist may work with government agencies as well as practicing physicians. They also work with hearing aid manufacturers. Audiologists may help in conducting clinical activates with their patients and may be involved with research aimed at hearing and hearing loss. They may also teach at universities, or give lectures to students on the ins and outs of audiology and hearing loss.
An audiologist performs many duties in this career field. Hearing tests are the biggest task they will perform. First, they use special equipment that can get accurate results about the hearing loss of their patients. A test such as this can be done in a sound-treated room. The audiologist undergoes training that allows him or her to inspect a person’s eardrum with an otoscope. They may also perform earwax removal, conduct different tests, and also check for medically related hearing problems and loss. Someone who has any type of hearing loss may or may not have a medical problem. In about 10 percent of patients with a hearing problem, it is caused by some type of medical problem. An audiologist is trained to recognize when there is a specific medical problem causing the hearing loss. They can then refer the patient to the appropriate doctor. This may be an ear, nose, and throat physician, or just a general doctor.
Hearings aids are something that those with hearing loss may benefit largely from wearing. A trained audiologist will be able to help their patient understand the different types of hearing aids available to them, and help them choose the right option. A trained audiologist will have insight and knowledge to the latest advances in hearing aid technology, and can point their patient in the right direction. Many audiologists do extensive research and writing in the ever-changing field of hearing aids.
Hearing loss is not just found in the elderly. Hearing loss can occur in children, or babies can be born with it. A child needs good hearing to help them develop, physically and socially. A child that cannot hear well can have delayed speech problems and other issues stemming from hearing loss. An audiologist can test a child at any age for hearing loss, and can identify if there is a problem. Even newborns can be tested, and if needed, special hearing aids fitted onto them or small children. Audiologists can provide many services to schools, from elementary to high schools, to help diagnose and rectify hearing loss in school children. This can be done in both public and private schools.
Audiologists should always be concerned for their patient’s welfare, and take the proper measures to ensure that everyone has good hearing. An audiologist can provide counseling for those that may be depressed over hearing loss, and need help with their life. Loss of hearing is a fact of life as one ages, and it is important to have your hearing checked regularly. An accredited audiologist can help one make the best decision regarding their hearing loss. Audiologists can work closely with senior citizens to help them better understand the issues they are facing and solve them quickly.
There are many causes of hearing loss that a person may develop and that a trained audiologist will diagnose. Loud noises, when exposed to for even a short time, can cause hearing loss. Those who are exposed on a daily basis to loud noise can almost always be guaranteed hearing loss. Viral infections, a trauma that happened at birth, genetic disorders, and some types of medications can cause loss of hearing. Of course, aging almost always causes hearing loss, as well. An audiologist can make a career out of treating certain areas, such as working only with children or only with the elderly. Some may take jobs that allow them to work independently from a private practice. Other audiology careers include those that work in preventative methods to teach workers to avoid job-related injuries to their ears. Some audiology careers include teaching hearing protection by giving lectures in schools, factors, and private settings.
Audiology careers are a fast growing and lucrative field. The median average salary of an audiologist is around $51,000 a year. An audiologist has many opportunities to work in various settings and practices, and can bring in an excellent salary per year. A small number of audiologists are self employed, and run their own private practice. Some may even convert part of their home into an office and practice there. The employment outlook for audiology careers is good, as this is not an overpopulated line of work. Training may be extensive but not overwhelming.
Looking into the jobs and training information for aspiring audiologists is important when one wants to make a career out of this field. There are many requirements to becoming an audiologist in the United States. A license, as well as a master’s degree, is required to practice audiology. The Praxis Series of the Educational Testing Service gives the national audiology exam that must be passed before one can practice. Clinical work in a qualified clinic must be experienced after graduation, and there may be many hours, up to 375, of supervised clinical work necessary to obtain a degree. When an audiologist wants to renew his or her license, they may need to continue their education to do so. This may be around 45 hours of education to continue. Those who plan on dispensing hearing aids must also pass another type of examination.
There are over 100 colleges and universities in the United States alone who offer a graduate program in the field of audiology. A doctorate degree can be obtained from forty of these. Those who decide on an audiology career will be required to take a variety of classes to do so. Getting a job once graduated can be done by applying at local medical centers, or by setting up your resume on the Internet.
To be admitted into the audiology program, one must take a large and varied number of courses. These will include communication, biology, English, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and much more. Classes will include the diagnosis of hearing loss and various treatments, physiology, genetics related to hearing loss, balance problems, and even neural systems treatment and assessment. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association is one such place that offers the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology. By the year 2007, a person interested in this career needed 75 credit hours towards their doctoral degree. A completed bachelor’s degree is necessary also to obtain certification in audiology.
There are other boards that offer certification, such as The American Board of Audiology. There are requirements to receiving this certification, such as passing the medical exam for audiology, completing the master’s or doctoral degree in audiology from a college or university, and obtaining over 2,000 hours of mentoring in a professional audiologist clinic or setting. To stay current, this audiology certification must be renewed every three years. Forty-five hours of continued education is also required to renew each time, to ensure that an audiologist stays current with the changing hearing loss issues.
There are many people who can practice audiology, although there are certain characteristics that can help one be great in their field, as well as make it into a lucrative field.
An audiologist should be professional yet compassionate. They need to be able to fully understand the work they are doing, and communicate well about the test results and diagnosis of each patient they see. They will need to be able to talk to their patients in a way that can be easily understood. This is especially important for those that work with children or the elderly. Objectivity is a must in this field, but an audiologist must have compassion for their patients, as well. A patient’s progress may be slow, so having patience in audiology careers is a must. Looking at problems in an objective manner is important, especially when the patient may be emotional over their hearing loss or problems.
Audiologists can also participate in research if they feel they are burning out with hands-on patient work. The development and improvement of hearing aids is an ongoing practice, as well as the newest techniques in rehabilitation. Medical and scientific journals can use the expertise and knowledge of an audiologist, and many in this career choose to write textbooks ad journals on their experiences and findings. This way, they can take a sometimes-needed break from seeing patients, yet still maintain a lucrative career. Many feel that contributing to research is one of the most important aspects of their career.
The field of audiology is a growing one, and is expected to continue that way for years. This may be because of the baby boom generation, for those people are now heading into elderly age and may require extensive treatment and hearing aids. The number of people with hearing loss and problems grows daily, meaning that audiologists will always be in demand.
There are many states that now require all newborns to be screened at birth for any hearing loss, so it can be found and taken care of quickly. This may be especially a problem for premature infants, and one that needs to be caught as quickly as possible to correct it. Victims of trauma and stroke also happen all the time, and hearing loss may be a side effect of those issues.
The salary of those who work in the audiology career can be anywhere from $32,000 to $73,000 per year. With experience, a certified audiologist can expect to start out in the field of audiology at about $43,000, with opportunity to make more.