Saturday, January 25, 2014

Fundamentals About Long Island Audiology

By Marissa Velazquez


In Long Island audiology was a word coined from the Latin word audire, which in English translates to hear. Audiology is a sub-branch of science that deals with the treatment and study of balance, hearing, and related disorders in humans. The professionals who study and treat hearing problems are known as audiologists. Different nations have different qualification levels needed for an individual to work as an audiologist.

Audiologists treat people with hearing loss and also give treatment that prevent further damage to the hearing system. They do their job by use of various strategies such as otoacoustic emission measurements, electrophysiologic tests, videonystagmography, and hearing tests. All these techniques and many more aim at determining if a patient can hear within the normal range. They also determine which section of hearing is impaired in people who cannot hear in the normal range.

There are three sections of hearing that are likely to get impaired, that is, high, middle, and low frequencies and they all get impaired to various levels. After the tests are carried out and a problem such as hearing loss or vestibular abnormality is determined, the practitioner prescribes various options that are available. Various options for use in such cases include cochlear implants, hearing aid, appropriate medical referrals, and surgery.

Audiologists have sufficient training in treatment, diagnosis, and management of hearing and balancing disorders. Apart from the aforementioned abilities, they have the authorization to suggest and map cochlear implants and distribute hearing appliances. They advice families with infants going through hearing loss and also aid people who become deafened at maturity how to handle the disorder by teaching compensation skills to them. As so, they work in rehabilitation facilities too.

Audiologists are also recognized for helping in implementing school and new-born hearing screening programs and individual or industrial hearing safety programs. They dispense special fitting ear gadgets among other protective equipment that safeguard adults and infants against becoming deaf. Some decide to work in research programs in the capacity of auditory scientists. They spend a lot of hours in a working and their work environments are similar to that of several other medical professionals.

In some states in USA, for one to work as an audiologist at clinical level they need to be doctors of audiology. Other states that do not have that requirement are expected to adopt this trend soon. During the study, learners are supposed to sit for and pass national examinations and various competencies stipulated by the body concerned with regulation of this practice in the United States. There is also a 12-month full time, supervised practice experience that students must attend.

Students have comprehensive training in cochlear implants, neurology, counseling, sign language, physiochophysics, acoustics, electrophysiology, anatomy, and physiology. An audiologist normally graduates masters degree, PhD, ScD, Au. D, or STI depending on the institution attended and the country. A license in dispensing of sound amplification aids is required for a practitioner to recommend and dispense them.

Long Island audiology is very advanced. It is carried out by qualified professionals who use very sophisticated and top of the class equipment. Facilities that provide these services are uniformly spread within the area for ease of access to them at any time.




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