Audiologists
Assess and treat persons with hearing and related disorders. May fit hearing aids and provide auditory training. May perform research related to hearing problems.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Social Perceptiveness
- Monitoring
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- Therapy and Counseling
- Psychology
- Medicine and Dentistry
- English Language
- Sales and Marketing
- Computers and Electronics
- Biology
What the work involves
- Examine and clean patients' ear canals.
- Educate and supervise audiology students and health care personnel.
- Develop and supervise hearing screening programs.
- Counsel and instruct patients and their families in techniques to improve hearing and communication related to hearing loss.
- Evaluate hearing and balance disorders to determine diagnoses and courses of treatment.
- Program and monitor cochlear implants to fit the needs of patients.
- Participate in conferences or training to update or share knowledge of new hearing or balance disorder treatment methods or technologies.
- Conduct or direct research on hearing or balance topics and report findings to help in the development of procedures, technology, or treatments.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Social, Realistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Doctoral Degree (95.5% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (33.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (31.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Audiologists is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 79% of occupations compared | 77% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 93% of occupations compared | 73% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 53% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 86% of occupations compared | 68% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 72% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Higher on conflict situations than 58% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 77% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 69% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 4.55%
- Contact with others most of the time: 18.18%
- Constant contact with others: 77.27%
n = 22, Occupational Expert 08/2021
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 9.09%
- Very important: 18.18%
- Extremely important: 72.73%
n = 22, Occupational Expert 08/2021
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 5%
- Important: 15%
- Very important: 30%
- Extremely important: 50%
n = 20, Occupational Expert 08/2021
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 9.09%
- Some freedom: 22.73%
- A lot of freedom: 68.18%
n = 22, Occupational Expert 08/2021
Time pressure
- Never: 9.09%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 13.64%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 18.18%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 31.82%
- Every day: 27.27%
n = 22, Occupational Expert 08/2021
Conflict situations
- Never: 9.52%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 23.81%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 38.1%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.05%
- Every day: 9.52%
n = 21, Occupational Expert 08/2021
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 10%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 50%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 35%
- Every day: 5%
n = 20, Occupational Expert 08/2021
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 13.64%
- Fairly serious: 45.45%
- Serious: 13.64%
- Very serious: 22.73%
- Extremely serious: 4.55%
n = 22, Occupational Expert 08/2021
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
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O*NET-SOC 29-1181.00 · SOC 29-1181 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8