Audiologist: Career Information

Audiologists use various tools to diagnose ear problems including hearing difficulties and balance problems. They develop and implement courses of treatment to help their patients adust to these problems , sometimes working with other medical professionals.

Audiologists held about 13,000 jobs in 2008. About 64% worked in doctors' offices or in the offices of other healthcare practitioners. Approximately 14% worked in schools. Other audiologists held jobs in health and personal care stores, for example hearing aid stores. Some worked in state and local governments. A small number of audiologists owned private practices.

While in the past audiologists had to have only a master's degree, a doctoral degree is increasingly becoming the requirement for licensure in the U.S. As of 2009, 18 states required an Au.D. or Doctor of Audiology degree and this number will increase over the next few years. It usually takes four years of graduate school to earn an Au.D.

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All 50 state require practicing audiologists to be registered or licensed. Most have continuing education requirements for license renewal. In some states audiologists who dispense hearing aids must have a Hearing Aid Dispenser license, which is separate from their license to practice audiology. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association offers the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) which may satisfy licensure requirements in some states.

Audiologists must have good communication skills, the ability to approach problems objectively, patience, and compassion.

Employment of audiologists is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2018. In spite of that increase, there will be few job openings for audiologists since the profession is relatively small. Prospects will be best for those who have earned an Au.D. and for those who are willing to move to cities that have older populations.

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Median annual earnings of audiologists were $63,230 in 2009.

Use the Salary Wizard at Salary.com to find out how much audiologists currently earn in your city.

On a typical day an audiologist will:

• identify, assess, and manage auditory, balance, and other neural systems;
• use audiometers, computers, and other testing devices to measure the loudness at which a person begins to hear sounds, the ability to distinguish between sounds, and the nature and extent of hearing loss;
• interpret these results and may coordinate them with medical, educational, and psychological information to make a diagnosis and determine a course of treatment;
• may recommend, fit, and dispense personal or large area amplification systems, such as hearing aids and alerting devices;
• provide fitting and tuning of cochlear implants and provide the necessary rehabilitation for adjustment to listening with implant amplification systems;
• measure noise levels in workplaces and conduct hearing protection programs in industry, as well as in schools and communities;

Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Audiologists, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos085.htm (visited June 17, 2010)
Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, O*NET Online, Audiologists, on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/details/29-1121.00 (visited June 17, 2010).

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