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Audiologist Career Guide

Do you have the patience of a saint? Are you kind, compassionate and caring?

If yes, then look no further. We think you may thrive as an audiologist.

Audiologists are responsible for the assessment and identification of hearing related problems, treatment design, and the prevention and education of hearing related problems. As approximately 36 million people in the US have some degree of hearing loss, Audiologists play a hugely important role in society. To become an audiologist, you will need to complete a doctoral degree in audiology (Au.D.)

I love audiology because it gives me the opportunity to serve others. I think that serving others is a privilege. When someone comes to me, trusting that I will be able to help them, that to me is a huge honour. Many people say that work can not be the most important thing in your life. But my work is more than work and it comes second only to my family. And even they understand my love and commitment for the “work” I do.

Audiologist Career Ratings

Income

Career
Growth

Personal Growth

Contribution

Influence

Job Profiles

Real-Life Audiologist Job Profiles

Below is a list of links to anonymous job profiles of REAL PEOPLE who have filled out our survey and offered to share their insights with our users about their job in the Audiologist field.
ID Job Title Gender Age Earnings City & State Date
33887 Audiologist Female 27 $48,000 Midlothian, VA 01/01/2010

Overview

What an audiologist does

Audiologists are non-medical health care providers who specialize in the assessment and treatment of hearing and balance disorders. They work to provide services in the prevention, diagnosis and evidence-based treatment of hearing and balance disorders. These services are uniquely designed to minimize the negative impact of disorders and therefore increase the patients quality of life.

Audiologist typically work in a variety of settings, including hospitals and rehabilitations centers, private practices, audiology clinics and schools. There is the opportunity to specialize in paediatrics, geriatrics, balance, cochlear implants, hearing aids, tinnitus, and auditory processing. The setting and specialization will mean that audiologists will have different duties. However, regardless the typical duties of an audiologist include:

  • Examining patients who have hearing, balance, or related ear problems
  • Assessing the results of the examination and diagnosing problems
  • Determining and administering treatment to meet patients’ goals
  • Providing treatment for tinnitus, a condition that causes ringing in the ear
  • Fitting and dispensing hearing aids
  • Counselling patients and their families on ways to listen and communicate (e.g., lip reading)
  • Evaluating patients regularly to check on hearing and balance
  • Recording patient progress
  • Researching the causes and treatment of hearing and balance disorders
  • Educating patients on ways to prevent hearing loss

Why they are needed

Approximately 36 million people in the US have some degree of hearing loss, with 5 in 1000 children being born with hearing loss each year. Furthermore, according to the ASHA-AARP National Hearing Health Poll of 2300 adults aged 50 of over, over 75% or respondents said that hearing health is important to them. Yet, half of them report having a hearing loss which they had not sought help for.

Audiologists are needed to help people, both young and old, to overcome their hearing problems and get their life back. When people experience hearing loss, they often experience other detrimental issues, such as depression, dementia or balance issues.

Pros and cons of a career as an audiologist

Pros:

  • Audiologists work in clean and comfortable working environments
  • They get countless opportunities to apply critical thinking to find new ways to tackle problems
  • Audiologists get to help people to hear again, which makes it a very rewarding career that provides high levels of job satisfaction
  • Audiologists get to work with lots of different patients each day, making it a varied and sociable career
  • There is work in lots of different settings, which means that there are lots of variety in work

Cons:

  • It can be mentally draining
  • Audiologists work with the very young and the elderly, which means the role can be incredibly challenging.
  • The training process can be lengthy and draining
  • It can be frustrating as the treatment may not work as an audiologist had hoped

Employability

Job market

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of audiologists is projected to grow 13 percent from 2019 to 2029, which is faster than the average for all occupations.

This employment growth is predicted because the aging baby-bloom population and their growing life expectancies means that there will continue to be an increase in the demand for most healthcare services. Hearing loss and balance disorder become more prevalant as people age. Therefore, the aging population is likely to increase the demand for audiologists.

Furthermore, early detection of hearing disorder in infants is likely to spur employment growth. Similarly, hearing aids are becoming smaller in size and have a reduction of feedback, which makes such devices more appealing, and thus creating the demand for audiologists.

Career paths

Audiologists need a doctoral degree in audiology (Au.D.) In order to get accepted onto a Au.D program, a bachelor’s degree in any field is needed to enter one of these programs.

The Au.D graduate program typically takes 4 years to complete and includes coursework in anatomy, physiology, physics, genetics, normal and abnormal communication development, diagnosis and treatment, pharmacology, and ethics. Programs also include supervised clinical practice. Graduation from a program accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation is required to get a license in most states.

Example Job Titles for Audiologist

Below is a list of common job titles in the Audiologist field. Click the links below for more information about these job titles, or view the next section for actual real-life job profiles.

Benefits & Conditions

Income and benefits

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for audiologists was $77,600 in 2019. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $54,010, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $120,750.

The top paying industry for audiologists in the United States was hospitals, where the median annual salary was $83,820. This was followed by educational services ($81,190), offices of physical occupational and speech therapists, and audiologists ($75,520) and offices of physicians ($75,490).

Autonomy and Flexibility

As audiologists are highly qualified, they often get to make lots of decisions regarding their patients care. Therefore, there is a lot of autonomy in the career. Audiologists will often work in busy hospitals and educational services. Therefore, they may find they have less flexibility over their schedule.

Locations and commute

According to Zippia, the best states to be an audiologist, based on salary and total number of jobs, were:

  1. South Dakota, where the average annual salary is $100,517
  2. West Virginia, where the average annual salary is $101,766
  3. Nebraska, where the average annual salary is $100,709
  4. California, where the average annual salary is $110,134
  5. Minnesota, where the average annual salary is $98,349

The worst states for audiologist, according to Zippia, are Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Alabama.

Work environment

The largest employer of audiologists in the United States was offices of physicians, which employed 27% of all audiologist in the United States. 24% of audiologists in the United States were employed by offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists and audiologists. A further 16% were employed by hospitals and 10% by educational services.

Some audiologists may spend time travelling between multiple facilities, whilst others only work in the one place. Audiologists will work closely with other healthcare workers, such as registered nurses.

Career Satisfaction

Common Matching Personality Types

Which personalities tend to succeed and thrive in Audiologist careers? Based on our research, there is a relatively strong positive correlation between the following personality types and Audiologist career satisfaction. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t many exceptions, of course, but if you fit into one of the following personality types then we suggest you give strong consideration to a career in Audiologist.

16 Types (Myers-Briggs)

Big Five (OCEAN)

  • None

DISC

  • None

Enneagram

  • None

Holland Codes (RIASEC)

Personality types

Audiologists are likely to be empathetic, understanding, caring and compassionate. They will be the types of people that enjoy working with others and are able to comfort others and build trusting relationships.

Accomplishment and mastery

There is a lot of education required to become an audiologists. Therefore, the sense of accomplishment and mastery is high when they eventually qualify and get given responsibility is likely to be high.

Meaning and contribution

Audiologist play ensure that their patients quality of life is greatly improved by treating a wide range of hearing and balance disorders. This means that their work is incredibly meaningful and makes a valuable contribution to society.

Life fit

Audiologists tend to work full time, and may sometimes have to work evenings or weekends to meet their patients needs. Audiologists may also spend time travelling between facilities, such as different schools.

Who will thrive in this career?

You will thrive as an audiologists if you enjoy helping others, as improving the lives of others is at the forefront of what an audiologist does. To be truly successful as an audiologist, you should also be excellent at communicating, show strong critical thinking skills, be able to concentrate for long periods of time and show skills in data analysis.

Who will struggle in this career?

Those who are seeking a desk job that doesn’t involve interacting with or helping lots of people are likely to struggle. Finally, if you are not patient enough to work with the slow process of treating hearing disorders then you will struggle as an audiologist.

Requirements

Quick Glance

Skills and talents

As well as the relevant work experience, Audiologists need to have skills such as:

  • Problem solving skills, as audiologists will need to diagnose a number of different problems with a hearing. They will also need to overcome problems in treatment programs
  • Patience, as working with hearing can be slow and their patients are likely to require a lot of special attention
  • Compassion, as audiologists will work with patients who may be frustrated or emotional. They will need to be supportive and understanding to these patients, and to their family
  • Communication skills, both written and verbal, as audiologists will need to communicate test results, treatment plans and diagnoses with their patients. They will also need to keep written documents up to date
  • Dexterity, as ears are small spaces and audiologists need to be able to navigate them

Education

To become an audiologist, you will need to complete a doctoral degree in audiology (Au.D.) In order to get accepted onto a Au.D program, a bachelor’s degree in any field is needed to enter one of these programs.

Certifications

In all states, audiologists are required to be licensed. Requirements vary by state but in general, audiologists can earn the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A), offered by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. They also may be credentialed through the American Board of Audiology. Certification can be earned by graduating from an accredited doctoral program and passing a standardized exam.

How to Become

Summary

Audiologists are responsible for the assessment and identification of hearing related problems, designing treatment, and the prevention and education of hearing related problems. As approximately 36 million people in the US have some degree of hearing loss, Audiologists play a hugely important role in society.

Immediate action

To have the best chances of getting accepted onto a audiology program, aspiring audiologists should aim to have as much experience as possible. They should also have many extra curricular activities, such as sports or art.

Education and learning

To become an audiologist, you will need to complete a doctoral degree in audiology (Au.D.) In order to get accepted onto a Au.D program, a bachelor’s degree in any field is needed to enter one of these programs.

Skill development

Audiologists develop lots of their skills through their university education and through their supervised work. Once qualified, many audiologists will continue to train and develop their skills throughout their career.

FAQs

Ask a Question

Have a question about Audiologist careers? If so, our mentors would love to help! Just click on a mentor’s profile below and then fill out the “Ask a Question” form on that page. Your question will then be emailed to the mentor, who can then email you a reply.

ID Job Title Gender Age Earnings City & State Date
33887 Audiologist Female 27 $48,000 Midlothian, VA 01/01/2010

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