Hearing Health Care Professionals Defined
The members of OHAA are hearing health care professionals from across the state of Oklahoma and the surrounding states. They include Physician, Audiologists, and Hearing Aid Specialists. For a better understanding of these professional groups, please refer to the definitions below:
Medical Physicians
Audiologists
Hearing Aid Specialists
Physicians
Physicians specializing in diseases of the ear are called “Otologists”, “Otolaryngologists” or “Otorinolaryngologists” depending upon whether they specialize in the ear, in the ear and throat, or in the ear, nose and throat. Otorinolaryngologists are commonly known as “ENT’s” which is an acronym for “ear, nose, throat.” All of these have had specialized residency and internship training in their respective areas. Their practice is generally focused on diagnosing and treating medical conditions, including surgical procedures related to the ear, nose, and throat. Rarely do these Physicians dispense hearing aids, however, some Physicians employ a professional dispenser to dispense hearing aids.
Audiologists
An Audiologist is a health care provider who holds a Masters or Doctorate degree in Audiology and who specializes in the habilitation/rehabilitation and clinical evaluation of persons with auditory and vestibular impairments. The initials CCC-A following an audiologist’s name indicate that he/she has a Certificate of Clinical Competency in Audiology awarded by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). To receive this certificate the audiologist must complete a 30 week clinical internship and pass a national examination. Some services provided by an Audiologist may include any combination of the following areas: speech reading, auditory training, auditory and vestibular assessment, infant screening, hearing conservation, language development, counseling and amplification. Because of the wide diversity of training and the complexity of some of these areas most choose an area in which to specialize. For example, many Audiologists provide only evaluation of hearing and balance disorders, some in a clinical setting and some in a screening environment such as schools or industrial settings where they screen for hearing loss. Audiologists who fit hearing aids are commonly referred to as Dispensing Audiologists. Although regulations vary from state to state, not all Audiologists are licensed to dispense hearing aids. Most states require Dispensing Audiologists to obtain a license to dispense hearing aids similar to a Hearing Aid Specialist.
Hearing Aid Specialists
A Hearing Aid Specialist is a health care provider who is licensed or registered with the state in which he/she practices. Among the requirements to obtain a license in most states, one must first successfully pass a comprehensive written and practical examination to verify his/her competency. The initials BC-HIS following a Hearing Aid Specialists name indicate that he/she is a “Board Certified – Hearing Instrument Specialist” awarded by the National Board for Hearing Instrument Sciences. To receive this certification, the Hearing Aid Specialist must be in the practice of dispensing hearing aids for at least two years and successfully pass a national competency examination. Training for the Hearing Aid Specialist is focused on principles of acoustics, audiometric testing, anatomy of the ear, recognition of disorders of the ear, and a thorough understanding of electro-acoustic principles including transducer functionality, automatic signal processors, compression circuits, digital signal processing and more. The practice of a Hearing Aid Specialist is focused on testing and evaluation of persons with hearing loss primarily for the purpose of selecting, adapting and fitting of Hearing Aids and other amplification systems and the counseling and instruction pertaining thereto. The Hearing Aid Specialist is trained to identify specific “red flag” medical conditions that may be revealed during the evaluation process. If one of these conditions exists, the patient is then referred to a Physician for treatment. Additionally, the Hearing Aid Specialist is trained to assist in modifications, maintenance of hearing aids, and repairs.