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Who are the professionals who can help?
Otolaryngologist or ear-nose-throat physician (ENT). An ENT is a medical doctor trained to diagnose and provide
medical or surgical treatment to people who have ear diseases
or disorders of the hearing mechanism. If you believe the
problem is medical in nature (e.g., severe dizziness, ear
infection), the place to start is at a physician's office.
Audiologist: An audiologist is a person who
is trained to identify and measure hearing loss and provide
non-medical rehabilitation, such as teaching lip reading,
for people with hearing impairments. This person is
the specialist who deals with the diagnosis and treatment
of non-medical hearing problems.
An audiologist has a masters (M.A., M.S., M.Ed.) or doctoral
degree (Ph.D., Au.D.), completes a 9-month clinical fellowship
(internship), has state licensure as an audiologist, and must
pass a national exam to obtain national certification from
the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.
Speech-Language Pathologist: A Speech-Language Pathologist
has a masters (M.S., M.A.) or doctoral degree (PhD), completes
a 9-month clinical fellowship, has a state licensure as a
speech-language pathologist, and passes a national exam to
obtain national certification from the American Speech-language
Hearing Association. A Speech-Language Pathologist evaluates
and treats speech, language, and swallowing disorders in individuals
of all ages. Like an audiologist, a speech-language pathologist
can provide aural rehabilitation services such as speech reading.
Speech reading training provides formal instruction in how
speech sounds are made and which sounds look alike on the
lips. Learning which words have the same mouth movement but
very different meanings can be extremely useful in increasing
understanding of conversations
Hearing aid dispenser: A hearing aid dispenser
needs a high school degree and a license from the state as
a hearing aid fitter. This person is licensed to conduct
hearing tests solely for the purpose of fitting hearing aids.
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