Audiologist
An audiologist is a healthcare professional specializing in identifying, diagnosing, treating and monitoring disorders of the auditory and vestibular system portions of the ear. Audiologists are trained to diagnose, manage and/or treat hearing, tinnitus, or balance problems. They dispense, manage, and rehabilitate hearing aids and assess candidacy for and map cochlear implants. They counsel families through a new diagnosis of hearing loss in infants, and help teach coping and compensation skills to late-deafened adults. They also help design and implement personal and industrial hearing safety programs, newborn hearing screening programs, school hearing screening programs, and provide special fitting ear plugs and other hearing protection devices to help prevent hearing loss. Audiologists are trained to evaluate peripheral vestibular disorders originating from inner ear pathologies. They also provide treatment for certain vestibular and balance disorders such as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). In addition, many audiologists work as auditory scientists in a research capacity.
Audiologists have training in anatomy and physiology, hearing aids, cochlear implants, electrophysiology, acoustics, psychophysics, neurology, vestibular function and assessment, balance disorders, counseling and sign language. Audiologists also run neonatal hearing screening programme which has been made compulsory in many hospitals in US, UK and India. An Audiologist usually graduates with one of the following qualifications: MSc(Audiology), Au.D., STI, PhD, or ScD, depending the program and country attended.
In Australia Audiologists must hold a Masters in Audiology, alternatively bachelor's degree from overseas certified by the VETASSESS. Audiologists in Australia are not required to be a member of any professional body. But to dispense hearing aids to eligible pensioners and eligible war veterans one must have 2 years clinical experience and be registered with an approved body such as Audiology Australia (ASA) or the Australian College of Audiology (ACAud). In Australia, by general definition an 'Audiologist' - is a University graduate with postgraduate qualifications in Audiology or equivalent training. Audiologists have broad responsibilities and expertise in all non-medical areas of hearing services including complex hearing assessment and rehabilitation of hearing impairment (which includes hearing aid prescription, fitting and management). An 'Audiometrist' - has completed a TAFE Certificate Course in hearing aid audiometry and/or received in-house training from the hearing aid industry.
- Links
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiology
- Related Organisations
- Audiological Society of Australia
- Dr Celene McNeill (Audiologist)
- Naomi Richards (Audiologist)
- Ms Joanne Le Gall (Audiologist)
- Ms Mary-Ann Law (Audiologist)
- Agata Romero (Audiologist)
- Tricia Sharples (Audiologist)
- Maryam Zargarbashi (Audiologist)
- Alison Chiam (Audiologist)
- Dr Naz Amir Ahmadi (Audiologist)
- Ms Ines Colubriale (Audiologist)
