What's an Audiologist

An audiologist is a licensed health care professional who diagnoses, evaluates, and treats various hearing disorders and communication problems. Education requirements may vary from state to state or country to country, but in New York State, licensed audiologists must have completed a Master's degree in audiology. This consists of medical studies in basic communication processes and professional and scientific areas of hearing and hearing loss. In addition, one must complete a minimum of 300 hours of supervised practice. Licensed audiologists also must have completed nine months of supervised experience and passed a written, State-approved licensing exam. Licensed audiologists are required by law to complete at least 30 hours of continuing competency learning activities every three years.

An audiologist can assess your hearing, determine if you have any loss of hearing and make recommendations for hearing health care. This could include referring you to a doctor or recommending hearing aids or other amplifying devices and methods to help your hearing. An audiologist can also perform a hearing test on your child and determine their level of hearing defect. An audiologist may also be involved in making ear molds and helping you look after your child's hearing aids.

There are various other types of professionals in an audiology setting. Some are medically trained audiological physicians or pediatricians who specialize in audiology. Others could include audiological scientists and audiologists who are non-medical professionals. An educational audiologist is a trained and qualified teacher of the deaf who also has a recognized qualification in audiology. These people can provide support to teachers with deaf students, their parents and advise other professionals on hearing assessments, evaluation and support.