"Audiology is the study of hearing imbalance and its application to the
treatment of hearing imbalance disorders," says Patrick Feeney. Feeney is
a professor of audiology in Seattle.
Audiologists work in the field of communication disorders. They mostly
work with patients who have hearing problems and balance disorders. Audiologists
diagnose, evaluate and treat hearing disorders. They work in hospitals, in
schools, in rehabilitation centers or in private practice.
"Audiologists are responsible for the identification and treatment of hearing
disorders, as well as balance testing and treatment of balance disorders in
addition to the treatment of hearing disorders," says Chantal Kealey. Kealey
is the manager of audiology for an audiology association.
Clinical audiologists work with a range of people, from newborns to the
elderly. Some choose to specialize in one particular age group.
Some audiologists do hearing tests on infants. Hearing loss at this age
can be a serious problem. It may affect language skills, social interaction
and intellectual development. Luckily, an audiologist can provide hearing
therapy and fit hearing aids on young children and even babies.
In all, they provide a wide range of services ranging from complete hearing
evaluations to hearing aid fittings.
Kealey says that some of the other roles in the scope of practice of an
audiologist include hearing loss prevention, coordination of newborn hearing
screening programs, aural rehab (which helps to rehabilitate people with hearing
loss) and counseling. Counseling helps patients cope with their hearing loss,
and provides them with strategies they can use to function at the best level
possible.
Alison Grimes says that in addition to working in clinics, audiologists
may work in hospitals, medical and private offices, schools, or in research
settings. Grimes is the president of the American Academy of Audiology.
"Some audiologists specialize in noise and working with noisy factories
or places that have high levels of noise," she adds. "The military and the
veteran's administration are both large employers of audiologists.
Overall, audiologists work regular hours, and in clean, comfortable work
conditions. Those working in clinical and hospital settings may also be required
to work evenings and weekends in order to meet the needs of a patient.
"If you're going to be a clinician, you need to have an interest in people
and an interest in really helping people," says Feeney. "You're in a position
where you see patients all the time, so you really have to want to work with
people." According to Feeney, audiology is also a very technical field.
"We use computers and we use sophisticated hearing devices that are programmed
with computers," he says. Audiologists use advanced medical equipment on
a daily basis in order to diagnose and measure hearing loss.
"I think you need a certain amount of technical savvy," says Feeney. "So
you should have a fairly good math background and a pretty good grounding
in the sciences."