Category — 3.2 The “A” Professionals

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.

see References