Audiologists
Audiologists assist patients with hearing and balance problems. They do everything from diagnose, advise on treatments and provide support to patients.
Audiologists help people who have hearing, balance and other sensory and neural problems that are caused by trauma at birth, genetic disorders, viral infections, exposure to loud sounds, medications or old age.
People with this profession diagnose balance disorders and assess their patients’ ability to distinguish between sounds and loudness. They then help people manage these issues and determine the best type of treatment by analyzing hearing problems educational, medical and psychological records.
Audiologists assist patients with treatments like ear canal cleanings, cochlear implants and hearing aids. They also help patients cope with hearing loss, learn to use hearing instruments and learn to communicate better.
Some audiologists keep records and work with health and education providers. As an audiologist, you can chose to specialize in an area like children, the elderly, work place injuries or people who need special treatment.
To land a job as an audiologist, you will need a doctoral degree and an audiology license. An education program will teach you all you need to know about the English language, therapy, medicine, psychology and management. People who do well in this field are usually good listeners, readers, speakers, critical thinking and are service oriented.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment will grow in this field but because the job is so specialized, it may be difficult to find a position after graduation. The average salary of audiologists is about $62,000 with some making more than $98,000.