Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code ISR

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.

Also called: Audiologist, Audiology Doctor (AUD), Clinical Audiologist, Educational Audiologist, Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology Licensed Audiologist (CCC-A Licensed Audiologist), Dispensing Audiologist, Forensic Audiologist, Industrial Audiologist.

O*NET 29-1181.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $95,780; Middle half earn $79,340 to $111,300. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Doctoral Degree; 95% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +9% · Much faster than average; 15,800 jobs in 2024, projected 17,300. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Audiologists".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Maintain patient records at all stages, including initial and subsequent evaluation and treatment activities.
Evaluate hearing and balance disorders to determine diagnoses and courses of treatment.
Fit, dispense, and repair assistive devices, such as hearing aids.
Administer hearing tests and examine patients to collect information on type and degree of impairment, using specialized instruments and electronic equipment.
Monitor patients' progress and provide ongoing observation of hearing or balance status.
Instruct patients, parents, teachers, or employers in communication strategies to maximize effective receptive communication.
Counsel and instruct patients and their families in techniques to improve hearing and communication related to hearing loss.
Refer patients to additional medical or educational services, if needed.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.1 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Active Learning4.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.8 / 5
Therapy and Counseling4.6 / 5
Psychology4.3 / 5
Medicine and Dentistry4.3 / 5
English Language4.2 / 5
Sales and Marketing4.1 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic50
Investigative82
Artistic20
Social82
Enterprising14
Conventional50

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

audiology equipment shop manager · DE Leiter eines Hörakustikgeschäftes/Leiterin eines Hörakustikgeschäftes · FR gérant de magasin d'équipement audiologique/gérante de magasin d'équipement audiologique
acoustical engineer · DE Akustikingenieur/Akustikingenieurin · FR acousticien/acousticienne
specialist dentist · DE Fachzahnarzt/Fachzahnärztin · FR dentiste spécialiste
audiologist · DE Audiologe/Audiologin · FR audiologiste
speech and language therapist · DE Sprachtherapeut/Sprachtherapeutin · FR orthophoniste
orthoptist · DE Orthoptist/Orthoptistin · FR orthoptiste

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Speech and language therapists (2223)19,100 employed
Dental practitioners (2253)34,800 employed
Optometrists (2252)18,900 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.63. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (29-1181).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test