- Hi, guys, in this video I'm gonna teach you
about the five main differences
between audiologists and hearing instrument specialists.
Coming up.
(upbeat music)
Dr. Cliff Olson from Applied Hearing Solutions,
and on this channel, I cover all things hearing-related
to make you better informed about hearing loss
and your treatment options.
So you walk into a hearing aid clinic
and you get a guy in a white lab coat.
You see all the certifications on the wall,
so you ask him, "Where did you go to school?"
And he's like, "What do you mean
"where did I go to school?"
And you're like, "You know, to become a doctor."
And he's like, "Oh, hold on, no.
"I'm not a doctor, I'm a hearing instrument specialist."
Now, it's not your fault for thinking he's a doctor.
The white lab coat can be a little misleading,
and he still may be completely capable
of providing you with excellent hearing healthcare,
but there are some major differences
between audiologists and hearing instrument specialists
that you should know about.
So let me give you some background.
Back in the 1960s, 1970s,
audiologists were prohibited from dispensing hearing aids
by their professional service organizations,
for instance, ASHA.
What would happen is an audiologist
would essentially do the hearing test
and make the recommendation of a hearing aid,
and then they would refer them
to a hearing instrument specialist
to complete the fitting.
It was also during that time that audiologists
were seeking to expand their scope of practice
to include education, auditory rehabilitation, and research.
Hearing instrument specialists were also seeking
to certify and protect their well-established positions
of retail businessmen.
Basically, a battle ensued between the two professions,
something that I'm not necessarily proud about,
but may have been necessary
for the growth of both professions.
Ultimately, it resulted in audiologists
and hearing instrument specialists
being able to fit patients with hearing aids.
Now, before I get into the differences between
audiologists and hearing instrument specialists,
it's important that you know
that I think that both of them
are necessary to treat this massive
population growth that we have
of individuals with hearing loss.
Okay, so we got that out of the way.
Now that you know the history
of audiologists and hearing instrument specialists,
we can now move on to the differences.
Difference number one is education.
Education may very well be the largest difference between
an audiologist and a hearing instrument specialist.
Audiologists are now required to earn a doctorate,
which means eight additional years of education
beyond a high school diploma.
The best programs are very selective and competitive
to incoming students,
and the programs are very rigorous and
require a full understanding of hearing healthcare
in order to pass the program.
Hearing instrument specialists
can be required to complete
up to a two year associate's degree,
depending on the state that they wanna practice in,
and that degree doesn't necessarily
have to be in hearing instrument sciences,
but it can be.
Difference number two is education requirements.
Both professions are required to
complete an exam to become licensed
in a particular state.
Audiologists are required to pass the praxis exam,
which encompasses all areas of audiology,
from diagnostic testing, to cochlear implants,
to auditory rehabilitation, to pediatrics,
to you name it, it covers it all.
It's intended to ensure that an audiologist understands
all aspects of hearing healthcare.
Hearing instrument specialists must also pass a state exam,
which includes hearing aid testing,
fitting, and ear mold impressions,
and it's for the sole purpose of fitting hearing aids.
Okay, difference number three is clinical practice.
The required amount of time spent
in supervised clinical practice
can be vastly different between
audiologists and hearing instrument specialists.
Most audiology programs who are ASHA accredited
require over 2000 hours of supervised clinical experience
under a seasoned audiologist.
Many students will exceed this number,
and some students receive the bare minimum.
Hearing instrument specialists generally have to practice
under another hearing instrument specialist
if they're on a temporary license.
If they're on a permanent license,
it depends on the state, but most of them
do not require that they have
any supervision at that time.
Difference number four is research.
This is another really big difference
between the two.
Research essentially determines
what the best practices are
in the hearing industry.
Hearing healthcare is constantly changing
because of new discoveries
and rapidly changing technology.
Being able to determine what is good research
can dictate what is taken and put into clinical practice.
Audiologists are generally required
to complete a capstone project
during their time in school.
What this is is it's a research project
that they develop from beginning to end
to really give them a complete understanding
of how research works, and what dictates
whether or not research is valid and good or not good,
and therefore, what you should take and incorporate
into clinical practice.
Hearing instrument specialists
may be required to read some research
if they attended an associate's degree program,
but there is no requirement for them
to conduct any kind of research during that program.
Difference number five, certification.
Essentially, any certification that is obtained
by an audiologist or hearing instrument specialist
is done at their own free will,
and it is showing their patients
that they are upholding that certification board's
standards for ethics and care.
Audiologists have the ability to join
a variety of different certifying associations,
a couple of them being ASHA,
which is the American Speech-
Language-Hearing Association,
also the American Board of Audiology,
also the Academy of Doctors of Audiology,
so on so forth.
There's also state boards that you can essentially
be a part of as well.
Each of these associations has their own
code of ethics, their own continuing education requirements
for you to maintain certification
with those associations.
Hearing instrument specialists have the opportunity
to take an exam or attend a particular program,
which there's several of them,
in order to become board certified
as a hearing instrument specialist.
This is why you commonly see the letters BCHIS,
for Board Certified Hearing Instrument Specialists.
Based on information from the NBC website,
the certification essentially shows to consumers
that that instrument specialist is upholding
a higher level of education and competency.
So, these five differences aside,
you have some great audiologists,
and then you have some not so great audiologists,
and you have some great hearing instrument specialists,
and you have some not so great
hearing instrument specialists.
The important thing, though,
is that you are informed about
the differences between the two,
so you can make a decision on who you want to go see,
and to entrust your hearing healthcare with.
If you would like to know more about
your state's licensing requirements
for audiologists and hearing instrument specialists,
you can go to your state license or board website
to find that information out.
It is free to access.
That's it for today's video.
If you have any questions or comments,
leave them in the comments section below.
If you like the video, feel free to give it a thumbs up,
and if you want to, go ahead and subscribe.
I'll see you next time.