Having Audiology As A Profession

By Roxanne Cruz


The branch of science that studies hearing, balance and its disorder is called audiology. Catering to the needs of every child and adult, Long Island audiology has been serving for quite sometime. Audiology specialists, or audiologists, are health care professionals who have a specialization in diagnosing and treating disorders of the ears and its parts and other related issues.

Apart from that, they can employ various testing strategies to identify if you are within normal listening range or if you are affected to what degree. They can dispense hearing aids, cochlear implants and recommend whatever options available that may be of assistance. They can even counsel families whose family member is undergoing a new diagnosis, and teach them the necessary compensation skills.

Various assessments are used by audiologists to diagnose ear problems like evoked potential exams, otoscopy, and speech audiometry. These tests are done with calibrated equipment in a soundproofed place. A type of assessment is the otoscopy, which assesses the state of the eardrum and outer ear canal.

Tympanometry is an examination to test the middle ear, the mobility of the eardrum, and the conduction bones by creating variations of air pressure in the ear canal. Speech audiometry is a fundamental tool in assessing hearing loss and it determines if a person has discomfort or tolerance to speech stimuli and it gives information on word recognition abilities. Pure tone audiometry is the key test to determine the threshold level of an individual that determines the degree of sensory loss.

Otoacoustic emission test measures the acoustic response that is produced by the inner ear in response to the sound stimulus. Vestibular assessment is usually used on dizzy patients to determine the cause of dizziness since eighty five percent of dizziness is related to the ears. Evoked potential test measures the electrical sensitivity of the brain in response to the stimulation to a specific sensory nerve pathways, like the brain stem and the auditory sense.

These tests are used to evaluate the patient, hence making a confident diagnosis and treatment plan. Aside from identifying and treating the disorder, they also give options on how to manage your ear problems, some of these are aid amplification and rehabilitation programs. Audiologists can make the necessary adjustments to your listening aid since they are equipped with the knowledge to make a proper decision.

Audiologists usually work in a team with other professionals in the medical field, like physical therapists, occupational therapists, physicians, and speech pathologists. There are some audiologists that specialize in working with children, while others are doing their practice with the general population. Some also decide to teach in universities, or become scientists.

In general, you will need to earn a Doctor of Audiology or AuD to practice it which usually takes four years after earning a baccalaureate. This requires almost two thousand hours of supervised clinical rotations to make sure that each graduate is prepared and knowledgeable in evaluating ear and balance needs. Audiologists in all states are required to be licensed or registered.

This field is rapidly growing and has become high in demand across the globe since many states have required newborns to be tested for auditory sense loss and receive early intervention when needed. Elderly people and young children are usually the patients of these doctors, who are often involved directly in the clinical work. To experience a good quality life through hearing, visit Long Island Audiology.




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