Hear you will: An audiologist examining a patient

For young children, the sound of silence is frustrating. They learn to talk by listening to others speak. ?Does your child seem to have difficulty understanding you? Is your child slow in learning to talk or constantly asks for repetitions? These are common symptoms. Many children have, or will develop a speech, language or hearing disorder in their childhood. Early detection is critical and hearing loss can be identified and treated even in newborn babies. If you suspect a problem with your child?s hearing, recognise it and contact an audiologist near you,? says a renowned city audiologist.

Cochlear implants, hearing aids, M?niere?s Disease, perforated tympanic membrane are problems that audiologists deal with everyday. They are professionals dedicated to providing quality-hearing care to the public. Audiology is thus the study of hearing, hearing disorders, and rehabilitation for individuals who have hearing loss. It broadly encompasses the study of how the hearing mechanism works, the assessment of hearing and correcting listening disorders, if there is a scope for healing it.

Employing various testing strategies (like hearing tests, otoacoustic emission measurements, and electrophysiologic tests), audiology aims to determine whether someone can hear within the normal range, and if not, which portions of hearing (high, middle, or low frequencies) are affected in specific cases.

Thus, an audiologist is a health care professional who diagnoses, evaluates, and treats hearing disorders and the ensuing communication problems thereof.

What do I have to do?

An audiologist can evaluate your hearing, determine whether you have hearing loss, and make recommendations to that end. This may include a referral to a physician or recommendations for hearing aids or other such amplifying devices or methods to modify the listening environment. Audiologists use a variety of sounds and test equipment such as earphones and speakers to evaluate your hearing. An audiologist may remove earwax if it interferes with the hearing tests or his ability to diagnose correctly.

Many audiologists prescribe and also fit and sell hearing aids. The other major area of audiology is concerned with balance. This involves the measurement and assessment of the vestibular organ or labyrinth that is an integral part of the ear and the treatment of disorders of balance. Vestibular function is only one of the three main inputs of the balance system, the others being vision and proprioception (feedback from the muscles, ligaments, etc. to the brain) ? hence problems of balance are generally more complex to unravel than those of hearing.

Audiologists find employment in a variety of settings including private offices, clinics, hospitals and schools. They see people of all ages but most of their work is with children and older people because hearing problems are most common in these two groups.

What should I study?

The eligibility requirement for the degree is an intermediate (10+2) in science with biology as one of the subjects, with a minimum of 50% marks. To pursue a masters in audiology and speech therapy, you should also have completed a bachelors of speech, language and hearing sciences/BSc (speech and hearing). There is an entrance test for admission to most of these institutes. The graduate courses are generally for a period of three years followed by a six-month-long internship in the field.

Before applying for admission to any institute, ensure that it is recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI).

What next?

Audiology is a growing field and can prove to be a career with good prospects. Audiologists are absorbed in hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centres, special schools and community-care centres. They are generally employed as clinical or research audiologists, research pathologists, speech and hearing clinicians, speech-language pathologists, and speech therapists.

You can also set up private practice once your credentials are established and one has had a few years of experience in the field. Under these circumstances, it is essential to have goodwill since it?s your reputation as a doctor and the goodwill you have earned over the years which will contribute towards making the practice a success. Speech therapists and audiologists these days, also form part of the medical specialists? teams.

Where to study

• All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
• Christian Medical College, Thorapadi, Vellore
• All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore
• Ali Yavar Jung National Institute For The Hearing Handicapped, Bandra West, Mumbai
• Kasturba Medical College, Manipal