Audiologists
Sign In
OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Assess and treat persons with hearing and related disorders. May fit hearing aids and provide auditory training. May perform research related to hearing problems.
Highlights
Undergraduate program resulting in the highest median salary (): Special Needs Education
Largest undergraduate program (65.4% of workers): Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Explore Pathways
Titles for this career often contain these words
AudiologistAudiologyLicensedDoctorClinicalAUDCertificateCompetenceinCCCDispensingEducationalHearingTherapistPediatric
Share
Fewer details
Responsibilities and activities

Audiologists typically do the following:

  • Examine patients who have hearing, balance, or related ear problems
  • Assess the results of the examination and diagnose problems
  • Determine and administer treatment to meet patients’ goals
  • Provide treatment for tinnitus, a condition that causes ringing in the ear
  • Fit and dispense hearing aids
  • Counsel patients and their families on ways to listen and communicate, such as lip reading or through technology
  • Evaluate patients regularly to check on hearing and balance and to continue or change treatment plans
  • Record patient progress
  • Research the causes and treatment of hearing and balance disorders
  • Educate patients on ways to prevent hearing loss

Audiologists use audiometers, computers, and other devices to test patients’ hearing ability and balance. They work to determine the extent of hearing damage and identify the underlying cause. Audiologists measure the loudness at which a person begins to hear sounds and the person’s ability to distinguish between sounds and understand speech.

Before determining treatment options, audiologists evaluate psychological information to measure the impact of hearing loss on a patient. Treatment may include cleaning wax out of ear canals, fitting and checking hearing aids, or working with physicians to fit the patient with cochlear implants to improve hearing. Cochlear implants are tiny devices that are placed under the skin near the ear and deliver electrical impulses directly to the auditory nerve in the brain. This allows a person with certain types of deafness to be able to hear.

Audiologists also counsel patients on other ways to cope with profound hearing loss, such as lip reading or using technology.

Audiologists can help a patient suffering from vertigo or other balance problems. They work with patients and provide them with exercises involving head movement or positioning that might relieve some of their symptoms.

Some audiologists specialize in working with the elderly or with children. Others educate the public on hearing loss prevention. Audiologists may design products to help protect the hearing of workers on the job. Audiologists who are self-employed hire employees, keep records, order equipment and supplies, and complete other tasks related to running a business.

Salary
Median salary: $81,030 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $68,940 and $102,220.
$81K$0$50K$100K$150K
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
Fewer details
Salary growth for audiologists
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
$81K$79K$77K$77K$75K$87K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K$120K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
Number employed
01K2K3K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
About Audiologists
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of audiologists who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
  • Time Pressure (73%)
  • Exposed to Disease or Infections (60%)
  • Consequence of Error (37%)
  • Unpleasant or Angry People (31%)
SOURCES:
Fewer details
Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Audiologists? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Communication skills
Audiologists need to communicate test results, diagnoses, and proposed treatments, so patients clearly understand the situation and options. They also may need to work on teams with other healthcare providers and education specialists regarding patient care.
Compassion
Audiologists work with patients who may be frustrated or emotional because of their hearing or balance problems. They should be empathetic and supportive of patients and their families.
Critical-thinking skills
Audiologists must concentrate when testing a patient’s hearing and be able to analyze each patient’s situation, in order to offer the best treatment. They must also be able to provide alternative plans when patients do not respond to initial treatment.
Patience
Audiologists must work with patients who may need a lot of time and special attention.
Problem-solving skills
Audiologists must figure out the causes of problems with hearing and balance and determine the appropriate treatment or treatments to address them.
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by audiologists
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), audiologists typically hold a doctoral or professional degree.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as audiologists as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for audiologists

The doctoral degree in audiology (Au.D.) is a graduate program that typically takes 4 years to complete. A bachelor’s degree in any field is needed to enter one of these programs.

Graduate coursework includes anatomy, physiology, physics, genetics, normal and abnormal communication development, diagnosis and treatment, pharmacology, and ethics. Programs also include supervised clinical practice. Graduation from a program accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation is required to get a license in most states.

Details: Licensing and certification recommended for audiologists

Audiologists must be licensed in all states. Requirements vary by state. For specific requirements, contact your state’s licensing board for audiologists.

Audiologists can earn the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A), offered by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. They also may be credentialed through the American Board of Audiology. Certification can be earned by graduating from an accredited doctoral program and passing a standardized exam. Certification may be required by some states or employers. Some states may allow certification in place of some education or training requirements needed for licensure.

Education level of Audiologists
About 85% of audiologists have a graduate-level education, and 94% have at least a bachelor's degree.
Education attained by audiologists
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Top college degrees
Here are the top college degrees held by the 79% of people in this job who have at least a bachelor's degree. Some of degrees may link to multiple programs due to the way Census classifies college majors. Click on a program to learn more about career opportunities for people who major in that field.
  1. Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
  2. Psychology
  3. Biology
  4. Nursing
  5. Communications
Fewer details
College majors held by audiologists
This table shows the college majors held by people working as audiologists. If you see "**" before the name of a degree/program, that means this field is one that the Department of Education believes is preparatory for this career. However, you can see from this list that those recommendations are far from your only path to this job!
Major
Select any title to learn more about that degree
Salary comparison for bachelor's only
Higher
Similar
Lower
Career salary (tail) versus Career/Major salary (dot)
Does the bachelor's-only salary rise or fall with this major?
$62K$62K
Salary for bachelor's-only
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Salary for all workers
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Education for Career and Major
Bachelor's
Master's
Professional
Doctorate
Workers with this career/major
Percentage in this career with this major
Not so much?
The link between degrees and this career
With the following sankey diagram, you can follow the top ten bachelor's degrees held by people working as audiologists, and then, in turn, you can see the 10 occupations that hire the most of each degree's graduates. We hope this provides ideas for similar jobs and similar fields of study.
Expand degrees
Communication Disord...PsychologyBiologyNursingCommunicationsEnglish Language and...General EducationSpecial Needs Educat...Multidisciplinary or...Liberal ArtsAll other degreesThis jobTop 10 majors
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Audiologists per 1,000 workers (ACS)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
Fewer details
Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most audiologists? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as audiologists. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where audiologists earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
  • In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for audiologists compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
  • Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for audiologists.
We hope the ratio allows perspective about how salaries may compare to the regional cost-of-living.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which audiologists earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Audiologists (ACS)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
Employment
20% of Audiologists are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 20% part-time workers, this occupation has a higher percentage of part-time workers than 67% of careers.
20%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
Fewer details
Distribution: Salaries of audiologists by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
$74K$72K$71K$88K$87K$77K$68K$0$50,000$100,000$150,000Self-employed incorporatedFederal governmentState governmentLocal governmentPrivate not-for-profitPrivate for-profitAll
Gender
Audiologists and gender
With 82% women, this occupation has a higher percentage of women than 92% of careers.
Gender of Audiologists
Men (18%)
Women (82%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
$73K$82K$0$100K$200K$300KWomenMen
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
Fewer details
Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
82%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Context: Salary inequity
The median salary for all full-time male workers in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women by 19%. The situation is a little better for audiologists, with the median salary for men 13% higher than the median salary for women.
13%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Audiologists
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Audiologists.
Race/origin of audiologists
White (89% )
Black (3% )
Multiracial (3% )
Asian (3% )
Other (1% )
Hispanic (1% )
American Indian (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
$74K$82K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K$120KWhiteHispanic
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.