Audiology
Audiology is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage. By employing various testing strategies, audiologists aim to determine whether someone has normal sensitivity to sounds. If hearing loss is identified, audiologists determine which portions of hearing are affected, to what degree, and where the lesion causing the hearing loss is found. If an audiologist determines that a hearing loss or vestibular abnormality is present, they will provide recommendations for interventions or rehabilitation.
In addition to diagnosing audiologic and vestibular pathologies, audiologists can also specialize in rehabilitation of tinnitus, hyperacusis, misophonia, auditory processing disorders, cochlear implant use and/or hearing aid use. Audiologists can provide hearing health care from birth to end-of-life.
Audiologist
An audiologist is a healthcare provider specializing in identifying, diagnosing, treating, and monitoring disorders of the auditory and vestibular systems. 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 hearing implants, such as cochlear implants, middle ear implants, and bone conduction 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 or custom fitted ear plugs and other hearing protection devices to help prevent hearing loss. Audiologists are trained to evaluate peripheral vestibular disorders originating from pathologies of the vestibular portion of the inner ear. They also provide treatment for certain vestibular and balance disorders, such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. In addition, many audiologists work as auditory or acoustic scientists in a research capacity.Audiologists are trained in anatomy and physiology, hearing aids, cochlear implants, electrophysiology, acoustics, psychophysics and psychoacoustics, neurology, vestibular function and assessment, balance disorders, counseling, and communication options such as sign language. They may also run a neonatal hearing screening program, which has been made compulsory in many US, UK, and Indian hospitals. An audiologist usually graduates with one of the following qualifications: BSc, MSc, AuD, STI, PhD, or ScD, depending on the program and country attended.
History
The use of the terms audiology and audiologist in publications has been traced back only as far as 1946. The creator of the term remains unknown, but Berger identified possible originators as Mayer BA Schier, Willard B Hargrave, Stanley Nowak, Norman Canfield, or Raymond Carhart. In a biographical profile by Robert Galambos, Hallowell Davis is credited with coining the term in the 1940s, saying the then-prevalent term "auricular training" sounded like a method of teaching people how to wiggle their ears. The first US university course for audiologists was offered by Carhart at Northwestern University, in 1946.Audiology was born of interdisciplinary collaboration. The substantial prevalence of hearing loss observed in the veteran population after World War II inspired the creation of the field as it is known today. The International Society of Audiology was founded in 1952 to "...facilitate the knowledge, protection and rehabilitation of human hearing" and to "...serve as an advocate for the profession and for the hearing impaired throughout the world." It promotes interactions among national societies, associations and organizations that have similar missions, through the organization of a biannual world congress, through the publication of the scientific peer-reviewed International Journal of Audiology and by offering support to the World Health Organization's efforts towards addressing the needs of the hearing impaired and deaf community.
Requirements
The International Society of Audiology maintains Global Audiology, which is a portal in Wikiversity that provides information on audiology education and practice around the world. Summary information is provided below:Australia
In Australia, audiologists must hold a Master of Audiology, Master of Clinical Audiology, Master of Audiology Studies, or alternatively a bachelor's degree from overseas certified by the private agency Vocational Education, Training and Assessment Services. Although audiologists in Australia are not required to be members of any professional body, audiology graduates can undergo a clinical training program or internship leading to accreditation with Audiology Australia or the Australian College of Audiology, which involves supervised practice and professional development, and typically lasts one year.To provide rehabilitative services to eligible pensioners, war veterans, and children and young adults under 26 as part of the Hearing Services Program, an audiologist must hold a qualified practitioner number, which can be sought by first obtaining accreditation.
Brazil
In Brazil, audiology training is part of speech pathology and audiology undergraduate, four-year courses. The University of São Paulo was the first university to offer a bachelor's degree, and it started operations in 1977. At the federal level, the recognition of the educational programs and the profession of speech pathologists and audiologists took place on December 9, 1981, signed by President João Figueiredo. The terms audiology and audiologist can be tracked in Brazilian publications since 1946. The work of audiologists in Brazil was described in 2007.Canada
In Canada, a master's of science is the minimum requirement for practicing audiology. The profession is regulated in New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, where it is illegal to practice without being registered as a full member of the appropriate provincial regulatory body.Bangladesh
A BSc in audiology and speech-language pathology is required.India
To practice audiology, professionals need a bachelor's or master's degree in audiology and registration with the Rehabilitation Council of India.Malaysia
Three Malaysian educational institutions offer degrees in audiology.United Kingdom
There are currently five routes to becoming a registered audiologist:- FdSc in hearing aid audiology
- BSc in audiology
- MSc in audiology
- Fast-track conversion Diploma for those with a BSc in another relevant science subject, available at Southampton, Manchester, UCL, London, and Edinburgh
- BSc in clinical physiology available at Glasgow Caledonian University
United States
In the past, audiologists have typically held a master's degree and the appropriate healthcare license. However, in the 1990s, the profession transitioned to a doctoral level as a minimum requirement. In the United States, starting in 2007, audiologists were required to receive a doctoral degree in audiology from an accredited university graduate or professional program before practicing. All states require licensing, and audiologists may also carry national board certification from the American Board of Audiology or a certificate of clinical competence in audiology from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.