Audiology

In addition to diagnosing audiologic and vestibular pathologies, audiologists can also specialize in rehabilitation of tinnitus, hyperacusis, misophonia, auditory processing disorders, cochlear implant use and/or hearing aid use.

[5] An audiologist is a health care provider specializing in identifying, diagnosing, treating, and monitoring disorders of the auditory and vestibular systems.

They counsel families through a new diagnosis of hearing loss in infants, and help teach coping and compensation skills to late-deafened adults.

[citation needed] Audiologists are trained in anatomy and physiology, hearing aids, cochlear implants, electrophysiology, acoustics, psychophysics and psychoacoustics, neurology, vestibular function and assessment, balance disorders, counseling and communication options such as sign language.

Audiologists may also run a neonatal hearing screening program which has been made compulsory in many hospitals in US, UK and India.

An audiologist usually graduates with one of the following qualifications: BSc, MSc(Audiology), AuD, STI, PhD, or ScD, depending on the program and country attended.

The creator of the term remains unknown, but Berger[8] identified possible originators as Mayer BA Schier, Willard B Hargrave, Stanley Nowak, Norman Canfield, or Raymond Carhart.

The substantial prevalence of hearing loss observed in the veteran population after World War II inspired the creation of the field as it is known today.

At the federal level, the recognition of the educational programs and the profession of speech pathologist and audiologist took place on December 9, 1981, signed by President João Figueiredo (law no.

The profession is regulated in New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, where it is illegal to practice without being registered as a full member in the appropriate provincial regulatory body.

In the United States, starting in 2007, audiologists were required to receive a doctoral degree (AuD or PhD) in audiology from an accredited university graduate or professional program before practicing.

The exercise of audiologist profession in Portugal necessarily imply the qualifications degree in audiology or legally equivalent as defined in Decree-Law 320/99 of August 11 Article 4.

The first undergraduate program was opened in 2011, and as of 2011, Audiologist has become a profession defined and officially recognized by the state of the Republic of Turkey.