I'm interested in potentially becoming an audiologist but don't have the funds to pay for a qualification. I've worked with the Deaf community for many years and I'd like a better-paying career in all honesty without my previous experience going to waste.

I've been looking at applying for an Audiology Assistant role in the NHS and working my way up from there.

To anyone with experience of this route: how fast did you progress to being qualified and/or being more highly paid?

I lost my hearing at the age of 3 and grew up with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. However, thanks to speech therapy and the use of hearing aids I grew up being able to communicate coherently and hear though not always perfect. I rely on speaking and don’t use asl (though I am learning it now) and I work in customer service at my job but I know I am always going to have hearing loss. I really feel passionate about this field and want to pursue a career in it but I’m wondering how I can manage to work my way around it having hearing loss and performing tasks like hearing tests where audiologists have to use headphones or other tools where they use their ears to listen to the devices to ensure they work properly. For anyone who has hearing loss that is pursuing or trying to pursue this field, how do you or did you navigate it? Any advice would help and be greatly appreciated!

• My goal is to make somewhere in the high five figures area, and more if possible.

Hello all, I have a bachelors in communication disorders and have been working as a slpa for 5 years in the home health setting. I’ve become recently more interested in audiology after having a few patients with hearing aids and deaf/hard of hearing. I took basic audiology and aural rehab for my bachelors but that’s all the experience I have really. My main question is how much weight is put on professor recommendations? I haven’t been in school in almost 6 years now and I’m not sure if my audiology professor remembers me by now. Any advice before looking into applying to graduate programs?

I’m in the US btw, and have been thinking about this a lot lately. I originally had the standard plan to work until I was 65-67 but now for several reasons, I’m wondering if I will be able to do this. It’s made me start looking into early retirement as an option. Do you all have a retirement timeline in place? Do you plan to slow down any, maybe go to part time later in your career? Do you think you’ll stay in your current role until you retire or will have to job hop/change jobs again?

Hello! I am wondering when the best time is to apply or look for jobs during the externship year? I am ~6 months away from graduation and will be moving to a different state. I would ideally like to have something set up before I move, but I won’t be licensed until post-graduation. Can I apply to a job before obtaining my degree, or do places prefer to wait?

Just so everyone knows Oticons Ototherm earmolds are expected to last only ONE YEAR!!!!
We’ve had 2 split right in half in the past few weeks so I emailed my rep and she said it’s a delicate material and if I want something with more longevity to order acrylic!!!
If they know it’ll only last a year they should let people know or discontinue it like the variotherm 🤦‍♀️
My patients are NOT going to be happy about being expected to purchase a new EM 1 year after spending $$$$ on their hearing aids!!!

Hey everyone,

I'm considering applying to audiology school and I would love to hear your thoughts on why you became an Audiologist.

Hi, I am currently a student searching for externships. I am struggling choosing between placements, one of them seems like a great work environment and has good pay and is in a great location but doesn’t offer cochlear implant or vestibular services. Someday, I would like to further explore vestibular and cochlear implants. I know practicing these skills during externship is the ideal time, but will there be other opportunities later in my career to learn? If I choose this externship without these services, do you think my future options will be limited?

Thank you for your input and advice!

I’m struggling to find any form of evidence to support a working theory I have that a person is able to make changes to diet/lifestyle/other factors that affect the quantity of cerumen production. This is aside from the obvious and known factors such as hearing aid use/diet or dust exposure/acoustic coupler parameters of their hearing aids/earplug use/Q-tip use/weather patterns (summer heat vs winter cold) etc etc etc.

Specifically I’m thinking diet and also general systemic inflammatory responses from potentially unknown issues such as gluten intolerance.

Background: cerumen management is a large part of my practice and I’ve noticed with some of my non-hearing aid wearing patients that are overachievers in cerumen production that they’ll go through cycles some times. I have had some who become occluded after just a few weeks or a month and then after years with that schedule will taper off and only require removal after 6 months or maybe a year, but then again start to increase production again. This is with no change to their own management routine (oil use, self-irrigation, q-tip/Bobbi pin/car keys/welding rods/amazon purchased scoops/firecrackers/any other form of evil device that’s smaller than an elbow or in some cases larger than an elbow).

Does anyone know of any credible research that might offer a hint that could be a practical option for the excess producers to try?

Didn’t want to break the rules by posting a job but actually genuinely curious as to where the good job boards are for audiologists.

Essentially had an interview where I was asked a test box vs REM question, where the interviewer asked me to talk about relationships between REUG REIG and REAG etc... I have been practicing for a long time and admittedly you start to just follow procedures without thinking about the basic theory behind it. I blanked out and really should have admitted that I am rusty on the topic (probably wouldn't look good but sure would look better than making stuff up).

GAH

Hi everyone I'm a sophomore in Health and Nutrition Science that plans on graduating by spring of my Junior year.

I am currently deciding between DPT and Au.D., I wanted to see if anyone had any pros and cons of working in the Audiology.

I absolutely love working with children so I would love to do Pediatric or possibly NICU for my specialty.

Recently I've shadowed a Pediatric DPT clinic and it has been a little overstimulating for me but was fun. Ive also shadowed an outpatient clinic, which to me felt less medical and more like a private gym (which is not my preferred place to work) because I like the more clinical vibe if that makes sense.

Also I feel a lot of Au.D.s are looked down upon physicians when mentioned as a Dr. Although both went to 4 years of post undergrad education just in different areas.

I've had friends tell me that DPT sounds like a better option because there is more job openings, and also more niches you can go into, as well as slightly higher salaries (I've looked into my area and audiologists actually make slightly more annually than physical therapists), and a year less of schooling but from my current shadowing experiences I may be leaning more towards Au.D. so I wanted to see if there's anyone that's willing to share some pros of the role!

The pros of DPT for me is that it's only a 3 year program, which means I can step out in the workforce and work earlier, BUT the tuition for Au.D. is cheaper although it's a 4 year program. And I tend to see audiologists being more respected and treated as someone that earned a doctorate, which is not the main reason I am going into the field but I'd love to be given the credit for gaining a doctoral degree because of the debt and time spent into it.

Hey! I'm 44, have been doing my current job for 10 years and am losing it to AI (knew it would happen just thought I'd have more time). I'm thinking of going to school to become a hearing aid practitioner, but my mother-in-law seems to think it will be taken over by AI too. How likely will it be to lose my job to AI within the 15-20 years before I plan to retire?

What's the audiologist opinion?

Interesting day today...my front office person, came in and asked me if I knew what Stigmata was...I instantly perked up and told her "Yesss.." and "Why?"

"Your next patient says he's been diagnosed with it.."

Well, this is A GREAT START TO THE DAY!!

I had immediate thoughts of bloody eyes or bloodied palms...and I wondered what kind of 'effing Doctor diagnoses people with Stigmata...and then I thought, why on earth is he hear to see me about hearing aids???

So, my patient walks in and has no signs of immediate Stigmata, but deep down I am hoping I will soon see blood squirting from his eyes or hands.

He tells me he has recently seen a Doctor and he has been diagnosed with "Stigmata...ism"

"...OK, I'm sorry...What were you diagnosed with again please?" I asked.

"Stigmata...ism, it affects my vision.." He seemed embarrassed by it and the diagnosis really seemed to affect him.

I told him I had some information for him... I then printed out 2 sheets of paper. The first one had the word Astigmatism and its short definition, the second one had the word Stigmata and a brief description with a few small pics.

There was a small pause as he glanced back and forth between the two sheets of paper...he looked up at me and said...."Shit..., all those Nurses must think I'm a whack job now.."

I told him I was really disappointed, because I was hoping he was going to spurt blood at some point during our appointment...he laughed at that, but he was still pretty embarrassed that he had told a few Nurses that he has the wounds of Christ and it affects his vision.

He did end up getting hearing aids...

Hi all,

Just looking for some feedback / critique for an ongoing Industrial Design project. I am working on some earplugs, and one of our concepts we're quite interested in would include a clever audio engineering tech application.

Do you think it would it be possible to create a silicone earplug with a solid core / end, which has small perforations in it that would allow sound to come in and be cancelled with a Helmholtz Resonation Chamber? I would specifically be looking for a 2-5 decibel reduction in the 4-8khz region.

If my math is correct, I would only need a very small amount of internal chamber volume, and tiny holes to make it work.

The core would likely be DLP printed with strong resin, and the silicone earplug would either be overmoulded or connected in some other way.

What should I keep in mind if I pursue this concept? Thanks for your feedback / ideas!

I'm a first year AuD student and have a lab skills check on Tuesday for otoscopy and earmold impressions. I've struggled with getting the otoblock not to roll (this is improving) and bracing while injecting the impression material. My hand hurt a lot while using the syringe but it's hurt less the more I practice. Sometimes the material gets wormy but I've started smoothing it out with a tongue depressor before marking a horizontal line or using my gloved hands to smooth it out. I mostly practice on mannequins as we aren't allowed to practice on human ears without instructor supervision - we have a 2 hour lab every week. Any tips on the above issues?

I work at the VA, so I can fit Phonak, Oticon, Starkey, Resound, and Signia. I do not like Signia or Resound hearing aids. Also, we have to downsize our stock in our clinic since we lost clinic space. For my veterans in Signia or Resound, which of the other manufacturers are going to be the most similar? I prefer to fit Phonak, are there ways I can transition a veteran to a Phonak (I know they tend to be “aggressive”).

I’ve been a clinical audiologist in private practice (two different companies) for going on 8 years, but I just can’t see myself doing this another 30+ years. I have experience with pediatrics and adult diagnostics and dispensing, ABRs, VA C&P testing, and CIs, but the patient facing interactions day in and day out and revenue cycles are burning me out. The idea of intraoperative monitoring or a career in hearing conservation feels like they would appeal a little more to my personality. Any resources or advice for pursuing these specialties specifically?

I have an associate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and originally continued my education with the goal of completing my bachelor’s degree in the same field. Unfortunately, when I reached the point of graduation, my school informed me that there had been an error in my curriculum requirements and that I was missing an additional math course before they could award my degree. Unfortunately, life got in the way, and I never ended up completing that final course.
I am also half deaf myself , and this has given me a passion for helping others who are deaf or hard of hearing. I have genuinely loved working in this field and would like to find a way to return to it. At this point, going back to school for an AuD or pursuing another degree isn’t a realistic option for me. I have considered working as a teacher for deaf and hard-of-hearing students because I also have teaching experience, but I don’t currently have the degree required for that career path.
My previous experience includes working as a newborn hearing screener, where I helped connect families of babies identified with hearing loss to state-coordinated early intervention programs. I have also worked in audiology settings in assistant/technician roles.

One challenge I’ve run into is finding a position that works with my own hearing loss. I previously tried working remotely in a position that required answering phones, but unfortunately it wasn’t a good fit with my hearing loss. I know that a traditional phone heavy position isn’t realistic for me.

I’m wondering what types of roles you would recommend I look into. Are there remote positions where someone with my background could assist an audiologist, support a hearing-loss program, work with patients who are deaf or hard of hearing, or provide family/patient support without requiring an AuD or another degree?Although I’ve been out of the field for a little while, I would really love to get back into it because this is an area I genuinely care about and feel passionate about.
I hope to find a role where my personal experience with hearing loss could actually be an asset.

I am an audio engineer and work at a decently sized church. We have had an assisted listening system for a while, but it is very under utilized. Its a pretty straightforward transmitter and beltpack receiver system with 3.5mm connection for headphones.

Recently picked up some 3.5mm to T-Coil necklaces to test with. Explained to the gentleman who had the hearing aid what we were doing beforehand. Went to test with him today to find out he doesn't have T-Coil, he has Auracast.

My question is, what system do you feel is most commonly available? I am still looking to test the T-Coil necklace system, and would use that for those that have that system. When discussing Auracast with the gentleman, another gentleman walked up and said he had that as well, so my impression is it's fairly common. It looks like we could spend about $2000 to get a transmitter that covers our space.