Careers in audiology and hearing care: Four tips to boost your practice
The prospects and the future of audiology look bright at the moment with the BLS expecting the number of employment opportunities to grow at a considerably higher rate than the national average.
While that’s great news in terms of scope for audiologists to find business and employment, audiologists can certainly use a pay boost. The average audiologist earns roughly $79,000 per year in the United States, which is almost a third of what a general physician earns.
Note that both general physicians and audiologists go through education and training that lasts for approximately similar timeframes in the United States. Therefore, the stark difference in average income between the two medical professions can be somewhat demotivating for audiologists.
Although the situation in general is not likely to change anytime soon, there are certainly ways for audiologists to earn a lot more than what the national average for their profession may initially suggest. Let’s take a quick look through what they might be.
Get your doctorate degree
An audiologist is not allowed the title of a medical doctor, irrespective of how much experience they may have or how qualified they might be. However, after an audiologist completes their Doctor of Audiology (Au.D) degree, they do gain the right to add “Dr.” before their name. This can play a huge role in real life, as far as establishing credibility is concerned.
Then there is also the fact that audiologists with Au.D certification are always going to be more qualified, experienced, and competent hearing care professionals, as opposed to regular audiologists. In other words, a doctorate certification grants audiologists with both the skills and the credibility they need to get ahead of the competition.
Look for partnership opportunities
If you are an audiologist, a hearing aid technician, or a hearing care specialist, your biggest opportunities for growth and income will come through business partnerships.
For example, if you partner up with a reputable audiologist near you and a big hearing aid manufacturer and supplier, you can expect major financial, promotional, and institutional support from them on meeting their targets.
To find more information on boosting clinics with business partnership opportunities, check out this link: www.phonak.com/en-us/professionals/become-a-partner.
Create a more appealing environment for your target age group
As an audiologist, you may need to work with a variety of age groups because hearing loss and deafness are not completely absent in any age group.
However, the primary target group in terms of age will always be seniors and elders for audiologists. We, as humans, tend to lose some of our original vision and hearing past a certain age. Even when age itself is not the direct contributor, hearing loss simply becomes a more prominent problem with age.
For example, people who work as ground crew in airports, or as construction workers at building sites will often develop hearing issues at a later age. This happens even if their ears were actually damaged a long time ago.
Repeated exposure is also a problem that’s compounded by age. So focus on making your audiology clinic more appealing to older adults. Go through the following suggestions and see if you are missing out on any of them.
- Provide wheelchair-friendly access routes.
- Try to minimize the distance patients need to travel between checks in the clinic.
- Arrange for comfortable, spacious seating in the waiting area.
- If there are long waiting times between the visits, add a few television sets in the area.
- Try to minimize the waiting time with prebooked appointments.
- Inform them about what will happen at every stage of the process and make them feel involved in the decision making.
- Be patient with them.
Many senior patients struggle with reading the small print of pamphlets or brochures. To aid them, we recommend using the best text to speech app for iPhone. This tool allows them to listen to the content rather than strain their eyes, ensuring they fully understand the services offered and the importance of regular audiological check-ups.
Seniors rely more on personal relationships than anything else when it comes to choosing healthcare professionals. Therefore, focus on not just creating an appealing place, but also an amicable, personal relationship with each patient. You can also recommend products, such as Audio Art Cable, that can enhance their lives by improving their audio experiences.
Word of mouth works exceptionally well when you are dealing with elders, so they will automatically bring in more patients on their own if they themselves feel comfortable while visiting your audiology clinic.
Establish the importance of continuity in hear care
From a purely medical perspective, continuing treatment and getting the hearing aid systems checked are essential steps for people who suffer from hearing difficulties. Hearing loss is not an acute problem that can be cured in one visit. It’s a chronic condition that can be managed with regular monitoring.
Establish that fact with your patients, show them factual reasons, and answer their questions for better clarity. The patients will need to go to someone for the same reasons just stated, but it’s up to you to ensure that they come back to your clinic for subsequent adjustments and treatments as well.
Boosting an audiology clinic is about combining skills, good business decisions, and high quality patient care. If you can cover the three points mentioned here, you will see your practice progressing at a faster rate than before.
