Among the population of people with hearing loss, hearing aids are viable options to restore or improve hearing. The type of medical professional you would visit for treatment is an audiologist, who specializes in prescribing hearing aids that improve your quality of life.
As a doctor and licensed hearing aid specialist, your audiologist can perform basic hearing tests, more comprehensive hearing tests, customize and tailor your hearing aids, treat a range of other common ear conditions, and more.
Here’s a deeper look into what audiologists do to treat your holistic hearing and ear health.
The Audiologist — Doctor of Audiology Au.D
An audiologist is a doctor of audiology that develops lifelong relationships with their patients, recommending specific hearing aids and helping the patient use them effectively. As doctors of audiology, they have undergone eight years of education with a focus on learning auditory and vestibular systems.
This knowledge gives them the ability to identify different types of hearing loss and provide appropriate treatment. In addition, audiologists can test and treat patients with tinnitus, vertigo, balance disorders, and other hearing disorders.
One of the key tasks of an audiologist is to establish a baseline hearing record and track your hearing levels over a period of time. The doctor will assist you with hearing aid fitting if tests point to the need for a hearing device.
If you’re new to wearing hearing aids, it’s important to keep in mind that it may take a few visits for hearing aid specialists to adjust your hearing aid, so it can work effectively. The audiologist’s role extends to caring for your hearing health in general.
What Are Audiologists Duties?
Yes, audiologists sell hearing aids. But they also offer a host of services designed to help the individual’s holistic hearing health and prevent future hearing loss. The reason audiologists are more than hearing instrument specialists is that they form a long-term relationship with the patient and deal with any type of hearing loss issues.
While dispensers are only focused on selling new hearing aids, audiologists are more concerned with hearing rehabilitation. For example, when you meet with an audiologist, you will describe your lifestyle in terms of how you use hearing in everyday life.
Are you in a band or a musician? Are you a swimmer? Do you listen to music regularly and does your profession depend on listening to others? Ultimately, your audiologist offers comprehensive audiological services designed to deliver holistic hearing and ear care.
How Audiologists Prescribe Hearing Aids
Successfully prescribing a hearing aid for an individual with hearing loss requires in-depth knowledge of the ear and its structures, including the middle ear and ear canal. It also requires a specialized understanding of how the ear works.
Here are a few key considerations an audiologist makes when treating hearing loss.
Your Hearing Test
When prescribing hearing aids, one of the most important considerations is your hearing test results. After you’ve undergone a thorough hearing examination that includes responding to a series of pitches, the doctor will study your audiogram, which is a diagram that indicates hearing performance.
Your audiologist will determine from your test results the hearing aids that will deliver the best quality of hearing as well as whether you need one or two hearing aids.
Your Lifestyle
The audiologist partly bases the prescription of hearing aids on the patient’s needs and lifestyle. Simply put, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions when it comes to hearing care and finding the perfect hearing aid.
Through your relationship with the doctor, they will gain an intricate understanding of your needs. Combined with the results of your hearing test, most audiologists will create a tailored plan designed to improve your hearing care.
Your audiologist will review all of your treatment options and deliver comprehensive follow-up care to treat your specific hearing loss and drive the best patient outcomes.
Hearing Aid Features
At the same time, the audiologist has developed relationships with hearing aid manufacturers. As such, the audiologist understands the unique features of each hearing aid and will match your needs to the best solution, such as:
In other words, when you visit an audiologist, you’re not simply going to buy hearing aids. Instead, you’re visiting an experienced doctor who is trained to improve your hearing and ear health.
Comparing Different Hearing Specialists
In general, there are two hearing care professionals you may encounter along your journey to better hearing: audiologists and big-box hearing aid dispensers. Let’s look at the differences between big-box dispensers and doctors of audiology.
Professional Services: Audiologists vs. Hearing Aid Dispensers
Both an audiologist and hearing aid dispenser offer services surrounding selling hearing aids. What makes hearing aid dispensers different from audiologists is they don’t develop lifelong relationships with patients.
Similar to the relationship you develop with your primary care physician, your audiologist will get to know you and make educated suggestions designed to improve your life. In contrast, hearing aid dispensers are mainly concerned with sales and typically do not have or need a medical background.
Education: Audiologists vs. Hearing Aid Dispensers
As we previously mentioned, audiologists are doctors of audiology, and they have undergone eight years of education with a focus on learning auditory and vestibular systems.
This knowledge gives them the ability to identify different types of hearing loss and provide appropriate treatment. On the other hand, hearing aid dispensers are required to have a high school diploma or GED and most often receive on-the-job training.
Hearing Health Quality of Care: Audiologists vs. Hearing Aid Dispensers
Unlike audiologists, hearing aid dispensers do not study or engage in hearing care. So they are not able to prescribe solutions for ruptured eardrums, tinnitus, or even a buildup of earwax. Nor are they allowed to prescribe a hearing aid to a child.
Hearing aid dispensers also cannot bill Medicare, Medicaid, or most insurance companies. Some patients want small hearing aids that aren’t easily seen by others. But it usually takes an experienced audiologist to deal with making the right adjustments for a small hearing aid.
A hearing aid dispenser, by contrast, is mostly trying to use persuasive techniques to sell a product. Since ears have many different sizes, audiologists must understand how to select the proper-sized hearing aid for each individual and may even take ear impressions.
Contact North Shore Hearing P.C. Today
In the end, it’s more advantageous to get a hearing test and purchase your hearing aid from a private practice, certified audiologist. Hearing loss can span decades so it’s helpful to work with the same hearing aid specialist over time.
The seasoned audiologist at North Shore Hearing P.C. can monitor and learn your hearing history then give you an objective periodic hearing evaluation. We will work closely with you to discover the best opportunity to optimize your hearing health.
Contact North Shore Hearing P.C. today.
