What Do Hearing Aid Specialists Do?

Hearing Aid Specialist Job Description Select and fit hearing aids for customers. Administer and interpret tests of hearing. Assess hearing instrument efficacy. Take ear impressions and prepare, design, and modify ear molds.

Life As a Hearing Aid Specialist

• Train clients to use hearing aids or other augmentative communication devices.
• Select and administer tests to evaluate hearing or related disabilities.
• Read current literature, talk with colleagues, and participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in audiology.
• Assist audiologists in performing aural procedures, such as real ear measurements, speech audiometry, auditory brainstem responses, electronystagmography, and cochlear implant mapping.
• Diagnose and treat hearing or related disabilities under the direction of an audiologist.
• Administer basic hearing tests including air conduction, bone conduction, or speech audiometry tests.

Hearing Aid Specialist Skills

When polled, Hearing Aid Specialists say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.

Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.

Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Related Job Titles

• Hearing Health Technician
• Board Certified Hearing Instrument Specialist/Company President
• Hearing Specialist
• Audiology Assistant
• Hearing Aid Specialist

Job Opportunities for Hearing Aid Specialists

There were about 6,800 jobs for Hearing Aid Specialists in 2016 (in the United States).

New jobs are being produced at a rate of 19.5% which is lower than average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1,300 new jobs for Hearing Aid Specialists by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 600 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Hearing Aid Specialists are Florida, Georgia, and Texas.

Watch out if you plan on working in North Dakota, Nebraska, or Maryland. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Hearing Aid Specialist Average Salary

Hearing Aid Specialists Make between $28,410 and $88,590 a year. A Hearing Aid Specialist median salary is $52,770.

How much do Hearing Aid Specialists make in each U.S. state?

Annual Mean Salary by State

State	Annual Mean Salary
Hawaii	$79,580
Kansas	$68,240
Wisconsin	$64,930
North Carolina	$64,320
Montana	$63,820
Florida	$63,740
Alaska	$63,630
Indiana	$63,410
Massachusetts	$60,080
Michigan	$59,840
Kentucky	$59,110
Colorado	$57,110
Minnesota	$56,730
Missouri	$56,510
California	$55,750
Arizona	$55,040
West Virginia	$55,000
Pennsylvania	$54,810
Texas	$54,780
Alabama	$54,550
South Carolina	$53,690
Nevada	$53,210
Oregon	$52,980
New York	$52,870
New Jersey	$52,560
Ohio	$52,470
Utah	$50,950
Georgia	$50,510
Iowa	$50,010
Connecticut	$49,950
Idaho	$49,410
Oklahoma	$46,020
Illinois	$45,450
Tennessee	$45,110
Maryland	$44,590
Virginia	$44,010
New Mexico	$41,510
Arkansas	$38,680
Nebraska	$33,800

What Tools & Technology do Hearing Aid Specialists Use?

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Hearing Aid Specialists:

• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Outlook

Becoming a Hearing Aid Specialist

What kind of Hearing Aid Specialist requirements are there?

How Long Does it Take to Become Hearing Aid Specialist?

Where do Hearing Aid Specialists Work?

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics

College Factual

O*NET Online

Image Credit: Via Wikimedia Commons