Audiologist & Speech Pathologist

By: Bianca Rizzo

Audiologist

What Do Audiologist Do? Treat and diagnose patients that

have hearing, balance and ear problems.

Assess results from the examination and then diagnose what the problem is.

Administer treatment for patient’s

Fit and give hearing aids and cochlear implants

Meet with patients and their families to tell them ways to listen and communicate. For example, lip readings and sign language are ways to communicate.

They see their patients on a regular basis to check on their hearing and balance. They do this to see if they should continue or change their treatment plan.

Keep patients records to see their progress.

Some conduct research related to the cause and treatment of hearing and balance disorders.

What Do Audiologist Do?Audiologists use audiometers: computers to test

patient’s hearing and balance ability.

They measure the volume of which the patient hears the sound and if they can establish a sound from no sound.

Audiologists also do psychological evaluation to see how hearing loss affects the patient.

Being an audiologist is a full time job. Some may work nights and weekends. They work around the needs of the patient.

EducationTo become an audiologist you have to have a

doctoral degree in audiology (Au.D)

A doctoral degree usually takes 4 years.

To get into the doctoral program you have to have a bachelor degree first.

The graduate program includes clinical practice, anatomy, physiology, physics, genetics, normal, abnormal communication development, diagnosis and treatment, pharmacology and ethics.

EducationAudiologists must be certified in all states.

They must earn a certificate of clinical competence in Audiology (CCC-A).

Graduation from a program accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation is required to get a license in some states.

What are the personal qualifications?

Skills an Audiologist should have: 1. Compassion. Audiologists work with people who are having

problems with hearing or balance. They must be supportive of patients and their families.

2. Communication skills. Audiologists need to communicate test results, diagnoses, and proposed treatments so that patients clearly understand the situation and options. They also may need to work with other healthcare providers and education specialists regarding patient care.

3. Critical-thinking skills. Audiologists must concentrate when testing a patient’s hearing and be able to analyze each patient's situation to offer the best treatment. They must also be open to providing alternatives plans when patients do not respond to initial treatment. 

4. Patience. Audiologists must work with patients who may need a lot of time and special attention.

5. Problem-solving skills. Audiologists must figure out the causes of problems with hearing and balance and the appropriate treatment to address them.

SalaryThe lowest 10 percent earned less than $42,590,

and the top 10 percent earned more than $102,210.

The median annual wage of audiologists was $66,660 in May 2010.

Audiologist’s median wage an hour is $32.05.

How many in the career today and is there a demand in the

future?

Employment of audiologists is expected to grow by 37 percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than the average for all occupations.

It’s a small occupation, that is fast in growth and will result in only about 4,800 new jobs.

There will be a continued demand in the future because hearing loss will increase as peoples age will increase.

What does a background in psychology contribute?

Psychology is the studies the senses which pertains to hearing and that is the main focus of an audiologist career. Therefore, knowing about the psychology and research behind hearing helps audiologist do their jobs.

Speech Pathologist

What do Speech Pathologists Do? They help those with

communication and swallowing disorders.

The patients they work with may not be able to speak at all or may have difficulty speaking.

They could also have problems with rhythm and fluency, like a speech impediment like stuttering.

Also, they work with those are unable to understand language. They work with people who have voice disorders, like extremely high pitched voices or harsh voices.

They diagnose by: Communicating with patients in order to see their level of difficulty, and determining the extent of communication problems.

This is done by having a patient take a standardized test for basic reading and vocal tasks, Identifying treatment options, and creating an individualized treatment plan to then carry out.

They treat by: Teaching patients how to actually make sounds and in turn improve their voices, teaching other ways of communication like sign language, increasing patients’ ability to read and write, developing and strengthening the muscles used to swallow through special techniques, and counseling patients and families with coping mechanisms.

What do Speech Pathologists Do?

It is imperative that they keep good records which include: initial evaluations and diagnoses, progress, changes in a patient’s condition or treatment plan, and the patient’s final evaluation at the end of therapy.

Most work full time or on a contract basis, which can include going to the individual home of a patient and working with the family and patient on a daily basis at the home.

There are a multitude of places speech pathologists can work: Schools, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing care facilities, clinics, private practice offices, state and local health departments, state and federal government agencies, home care, adult day care centers, centers for persons with developmental disabilities, and research laboratories.

Education A master’s degree is the

standard level of education required. A specific undergraduate degree is not necessary but certain courses must be taken before entering the master’s program. These courses vary by institution.

It is generally preferred that speech pathologists receive a master’s degree from an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association-accredited program. Within this program after attaining their graduate degree, they must complete the required clinical experiences and pass a national examination.

The graduate programs entail courses in age-specific speech disorders, alternative communication methods, and swallowing disorders.

As well as coursework, students must participate in supervised clinical practice.

What are the personal qualifications?

Compassion: Those with difficulties may become frustrated during sessions and speech-language pathologists need to be able to understand this.

Critical-thinking skills: Speech-language pathologists should adjust their treatment plans so that they are helping the patient get the most successful treatment

Detail oriented: They must be able to concentrate on the patient and be able to notice subtle differences like improvements or setbacks. This will in turn help the patient improve.

Listening skills: In order to accurately diagnose a patient, a speech-language pathologist must listen to the patient’s symptoms and problems.

Patience: Some patients may demand a lot of time and attention. This demanding work may be hard, especially if a patient seems to not be improving. Yet, speech-pathologists need to understand that the reward for working hard and being patient is worth it.

Speaking skills: Speech-language pathologists need be able to communicate with the family and patient about what is happening such as explaining diagnoses or treatment plans.

What does a background in psychology contribute?

Having a background in psychology can help a speech pathologist know about how the different senses work, primarily speech. Psychology dives into the study of how the mind affects behavior. Thus understanding this can help one understand the causes behind those with speech disorders more effectively.

SalaryThe lowest 10 percent of speech pathologists

earned less than $42,970, and the top 10 percent earned more than $103,630. Generally, the median salary for speech pathologists is $66,920.

Salaries of speech-language pathologists range depending on their educational background, specialty and years of experience. Also geographical location and where they work influences a speech pathologists salary. Thus with more years of experience and a higher degree of education the salary will increase.

How many in the career today and is there a demand in the future?

The demand for speech-language pathologists is expected to grow by 23 percent from 2010 to 2020. This is due to the fact that as the large baby-boom population becomes older more instances of health conditions, like strokes or hearing loss which can cause speech or language impairments will occur.

Also a heightened awareness of speech and language disorders, like stuttering, in younger children will increase the demand for speech pathologists who specialize in that age group.

As well due to medical advances, the survival rate of premature infants and victims of trauma and strokes are higher and many of them need help from speech-language pathologists

There were 123, 200 speech pathologists as of 2010 therefore this number has grown within the past two years.

There are over 126,219 ASHA-certified speech language pathologists. Therefore, this is a rough estimate of how many speech pathologists there are.

Videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObhBkVWRpa

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Work Cited http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/audiologists.h

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http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/speech-language-pathologists.htm

http://www.google.com

http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/speech-language-pathologisthttp://

www.asha.org/careers/professions/slp/