Example Career: Audiologists

Career Description

Assess and treat persons with hearing and related disorders. May fit hearing aids and provide auditory training. May perform research related to hearing problems.

What Job Titles Audiologists Might Have

• Audiologist

What Audiologists Do

• Administer hearing tests and examine patients to collect information on type and degree of impairment, using specialized instruments and electronic equipment.
• Fit, dispense, and repair assistive devices, such as hearing aids.
• Maintain patient records at all stages, including initial and subsequent evaluation and treatment activities.
• Evaluate hearing and balance disorders to determine diagnoses and courses of treatment.
• Program and monitor cochlear implants to fit the needs of patients.
• Counsel and instruct patients and their families in techniques to improve hearing and communication related to hearing loss.
• Refer patients to additional medical or educational services if needed.
• Monitor patients' progress and provide ongoing observation of hearing or balance status.
• Educate and supervise audiology students and health care personnel.
• Instruct patients, parents, teachers, or employers in communication strategies to maximize effective receptive communication.
• Recommend assistive devices according to patients' needs or nature of impairments.
• Participate in conferences or training to update or share knowledge of new hearing or balance disorder treatment methods or technologies.
• Plan and conduct treatment programs for patients' hearing or balance problems, consulting with educators, physicians, nurses, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, and other health care personnel as necessary.
• Work with multidisciplinary teams to assess and rehabilitate recipients of implanted hearing devices through auditory training and counseling.
• Advise educators or other medical staff on hearing or balance topics.
• Provide information to the public on hearing or balance topics.
• Examine and clean patients' ear canals.
• Engage in marketing activities, such as developing marketing plans, to promote business for private practices.
• Perform administrative tasks, such as managing office functions and finances.
• Measure noise levels in workplaces and conduct hearing conservation programs in industry, military, schools, and communities.
• Develop and supervise hearing screening programs.
• Conduct or direct research on hearing or balance topics and report findings to help in the development of procedures, technology, or treatments.

What Audiologists Should Be Good At

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

What Audiologists Should Be Interested In

• Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

What Audiologists Need to Learn

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.