Audiology

Audiology is a health care profession concerned with the study of both normal and disordered hearing. The profession evolved from closely related fields such as speech-language pathology, medicine, special education, psychology, and hearing instrumentation.  The term Audiology, in the most literal sense, refers to the science of hearing. A much broader definition of audiology is the discipline involved in the prevention, identification and the evaluation of hearing disorders, the selection and evaluation of hearing aids, and the re-habilitation of individuals with hearing impairment.  A professional who is specially trained in this area and has a university degree in audiology is called an audiologist.


WHAT IS AN AUDIOLOGIST?
Audiologists are health care and education professionals who identify, assess, and manage disorders of auditory, balance, and other neural systems. An audiologist will provide audiological (aural) rehabilitation to children and adults across the entire life span. Audiologists select, fit, and dispense amplification systems such as hearing aids and related devices. They also prevent hearing loss through the provision and fitting of hearing protective devices, consultation on the effects of noise on hearing, and consumer education. Audiologists are involved in auditory and related research pertinent to the prevention, identification, and management of hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance systems dysfunction. The may also serve as expert witnesses in litigation related to their areas of expertise.


Qualifications include a master's or doctoral degree from an accredited university, state licensure, completion of a fulltime fellowship and passing a demanding competency examination. These professionals belong to several national organizations guided by a Code of Ethics requiring that audiologic services be provided in an ethical manner. By virtue of their graduate education, professional certification and licensure, audiologists are the most qualified professionals to select and verify the performance of hearing aids.


The services that an audiologist may provide are:


  • Testing and diagnosing hearing and balance disorders in infants, children, and adults
  • Educating consumers and professionals on the prevention of hearing loss
  • Selecting, fitting, and dispensing hearing aids and assistive listening, alerting, and captioning devices
  • Participating in hearing conservation programs in industry to prevent workplace-related and recreational hearing loss due to noise
  • Participating in screening programs for infants, children, and adults
  • Consulting to federal, state and local agencies on reducing community noise
  • Conducting research into environmental influences on hearing, new testing methods, and new rehabilitative devices such as cochlear implants
  • Working with adults and children who need aural rehabilitation such as auditory training and speechreading.

How Do We Hear?
Hearing depends on the following series of events that change sound waves in the air into electrical impulses that the auditory (hearing) nerve carries to the brain. The ear has three major parts, described as the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear.



Sound waves enter the outer ear (pinna) and travel through a narrow tube (ear canal) that leads inside the ear to the eardrum (tympanic membrane). The eardrum vibrates from the incoming sound waves and transmits these vibrations through three tiny bones called the ossicles (the malleus, incus, and stapes) in the middle ear. They amplify the sound and send it through the entrance to the inner ear (oval window) and into the fluid-filled hearing organ (cochlea).


The vibrations create ripples in the fluid that bend projections from tiny hair cells in the cochlea, causing electrical impulses that the auditory nerve, or eighth cranial nerve, sends to the brain.


The brain translates these impulses into what we experience as sound.


There are different types of hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss occurs when sound waves are prevented from passing to the inner ear. This can be caused by a variety of problems including buildup of earwax (cerumen), infection, fluid in the middle ear (ear infection or otitis media), or a punctured eardrum. Sensorineural (nerve) hearing loss develops when the auditory nerve or hair cells in the inner ear are damaged by aging, noise, illness, injury, infection, head trauma, toxic medications, or an inherited condition. Mixed hearing loss is a combination of both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. A conductive hearing loss can often be corrected with medical or surgical treatment, while sensorineural hearing loss usually cannot be reversed. 


People with hearing loss may experience some or all of the following problems: 


  • Difficulty hearing conversations, especially when there is background noise.
  • Hissing, roaring, or ringing in the ears (tinnitus).
  • Difficulty hearing the television or radio at a normal volume.
  • Fatigue and irritation caused by the effort to hear.
  • Dizziness or problems with balance.

How Can I Find Out If I Have Hearing Loss
Answering the questions on our Self-Test will help you determine if you have a hearing loss and need to have your hearing evaluated.