Audiologist

Audiologists work with children who have difficulties with the ear (trouble hearing) and/or the vestibular (balance) system (see ECI Glossary). In Canada, audiologists must have at least a Master’s degree or its equivalent in order to practice in the country (Fig. 1).

Figure 1. Audiologist

Audiologists offer the following services to children who are deaf or hard of hearing:

• Checking a child’s ability to hear sounds at different decibel (see full Glossary) levels;
• Producing a report that details the degree and type of hearing loss. The report is a graph and it is called an audiogram;
• Offering recommendations regarding the use of assistive devices (see full Glossary) that would improve a child’s ability to hear;
• Teaching children and parents how to use assistive devices, such as hearing aids (see full Glossary) (Fig. 2) and FM systems (see full Glossary);
• Teaching children how to communicate their needs to others;
• Teaching children how to understand what others are saying;
• Working with the members of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) (see full Glossary) team.

Figure 2. Hearing aids

Audiologists also:

• Check the the child’s vestibular system (see ECI Glossary) and sense of balance;
• Check a child’s skills and needs in order to determine if the child has an auditory processing disorder (see full Glossary);
• Offer intervention advice to children who have difficulties with their vestibular system, or who have an auditory processing disorder.

To learn more about audiologists, please visit the following website.

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