Allison Scott

ISM- Period 6

Thompson, Spencer. “Audiologist.” Sokanu, Sokanu, www.sokanu.com/careers/audiologist/.

 Audiologists rely on technology to preform and keep track of tests

 Mostly use computers to track and show results of tests preformed
 Test for hearing ability, determine the extent of hearing damage, and determine the cause
of the problems a patient may have
 “Examine patients who have hearing, balance, or related ear problems” (Thompson 3).
 Determine the treatment needed for the specific patient and either preform/ give/
diagnose the patient or refer them to someone else to preform/ give the treatment (for
example, a patient could be referred to an ENT for surgical implant of the cochlear
implant)
 If the patient is found with hearing loss, the audiologist can recommend and “counsel
patients and their families on ways to listen and communicate, such as lip reading or
through sign language” (Thompson 4).
 Regularly see patients to see if hearing has changed in any way and, if so, how and why it
is changing
 Measure the volume a patient can hear certain sounds at different frequencies and how
well the patient can distinguish one sound from another
 2 main types of audiology:
o Audiologists who test and treat pediatric and adult patients
o Audiologists who “design products to help protect the hearing of workers on the
job” (Thompson 5).
 The average salary is $75,000 and year
 Infants that are tested use the rubber probes for hearing tests. Once they become more
mature behaviorally and physically, they can begin to do adult tests in the sound booth.
 Some occupations that are similar to audiologist’s job are optometrist, diagnostic medical
sonographer, nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner, surgical technologist, pharmacist,
neuropsychologist, optician, or an ENT.

This was not a very helpful website for my project because it gave information that I had
already learned from my mentorship, and it was not specific about the types of testing
audiologists preform.
 Allison Scott
ISM- Period 6

“Adult Hearing Tests | Audiology.” Camino ENT, Bass Medical Group,

caminoent.com/audiology/hearing-tests/adult-hearing-tests/.

 The “Pure Tone Audiometry” or diagnostic audiometry is the traditional air

conduction test where when the patient hears a noise at a certain frequency and
volume they raise their hand. The audiologist tries to find the softest frequencies the
patient can hear at. The information is then recorded on an audiogram.
 A speech audiometry is where the patient’s ability to distinguish and repeat back
words is tested. The patient will use headphones and hear words spoken by the
audiologist at different volume levels. They then have the patient try and hear the
word and repeat it back. Then the audiologist will put the volume at a comfortable
level for the patient and have the patient repeat back words after hearing them in a
sentence. For example, “say the word baseball” and then the patient would repeat
back “baseball.” The test with sentences are all at one volume level and is just testing
the patient’s ability to recognize and repeat back words
 Tympanometry testing is done to test the mobility of the middle ear. The patient will
have rubber headphone put in the ear and they will hear buzzing and/or feel a change
in pressure in the ear. The test shows how well the ear drum moves when sound is
played in the ear or when the pressure changes
 “If there is fluid behind the eardrum, Eustachian Tube dysfunction or a disarticulated
ossicular chain (damage to the middle ear bones), the tympanogram may show an
abnormal result” (Camino 8).
 Acoustic reflex testing tests how well the ear responds to intense sound. A muscle in
the called the Stapedius contracts when loud sounds are played into the ear and
protects the ear from damage (if the noise is too loud and is consistent for a long
period of time, the muscle will not be able to keep the ear from total damage).
 “This result is useful in checking consistency of hearing test results, especially in
situations where the reliability of patient responses is questionable. This test can also
provide insight into patients with central nervous system dysfunction” (Camino 11).
 Lastly, the Otoacoustic Emission test is done to measure how well the inner hair cells
in the cochlea function. A probe is inserted in the ear and a series of sounds are
played. The probe also has a microphone that picks up sound. If the hair cells are
functioning properly, the hair cells will send back and echo of the sound played to the
microphone.

This website was very helpful for my project because it provided more information on
topics I had already discussed with my mentor, as well as new topics and information.
 Allison Scott
ISM- Period 6

Mayo Clinic staff. “Hearing Loss: Diagnosis Ans Treatment.” Hearing Loss, HONcode,
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-
20373077.

 Questions and audiologist would ask a patient would be “how would you describe your
symptoms? Do you have pain in the affected ear, did your symptoms come on suddenly,
do you have ringing, roaring or hissing in your ears, do your symptoms include dizziness
or balance problems, do you have a history of ear infections, ear trauma or ear surgery,
have you ever worked in a job that exposed you to loud noise, flown airplanes or been in
combat in the military, does your family complain that you turn up the volume of the
television or radio too high, do you have trouble understanding someone who is talking to
you in a low voice, do you have trouble understanding someone who is speaking to you
on the telephone, do you frequently need to ask others to speak up or repeat themselves
during conversation? Does this happen more frequently in a noisy setting, such as a
crowded restaurant, can you hear a coin hitting the floor or a door closing, can you hear
when someone approaches you from behind, if your hearing is impaired, does it bother
you or affect your quality of life, would you be willing to use a hearing aid if needed”
(Mayo Clinic 13).
 Treatments include removing wax from the middle ear, sometimes surgery, hearings aids,
and cochlear implants (doesn’t include all treatments, just some of the most common).
 People who choose not to do these treatments or still do not experience better results can
do certain things to help them hear better
 They can position themselves in a way where the person speaking is either directly facing
them or speaking into their better ear
 They can turn off background noises like the TV or radio
 They can ask the person/people they are talking to speak clearly or loudly/more loud than
usual
 They can choose to have conversations in quitter settings like asking to have a more
isolated table in a restaurant or ask to speak to someone somewhere else
 They can choose to use an assistive listening device like hearing aids or a cochlear
implant so they won’t have to go through the trouble of asking people to speak louder or
not being able to hear even when asked

This website was helpful to my project because it gave management procedures for adults and
pediatrics, and gave questions an audiologist would ask a patient.