Hearing care professional (Audicien)
Information on this skill...
A hearing care professional is a person who specializes in performing hearing tests and providing hearing aids and other audiological equipment that can help the hearing impaired. In addition to hearing aids, there are now also other devices for the hearing impaired, such as special hearing glasses and telephones. As a hearing care professional you not only work in the shop, but also in the workshop and in the measurement room. Today there are many different hearing aids, which are also getting smaller and smaller. Because modern hearing aids often use software, as a hearing care professional you will also work a lot with the computer. Hearing aids sometimes require maintenance and customers come to a hearing care professional for this. It is therefore not the case that the work of a hearing care professional consists only of selling hearing aids. In short, the work of a hearing care professional can best be described as fitting and supplying the right audiological equipment. Audiology is a medical specialty that deals with, among other things, measuring and correcting hearing function, including balance. The work of a hearing care professional can be regarded as important work, because many people sooner or later have to deal with a hearing impairment, which can cause problems in the long run. It is the hearing care professional who can correctly determine whether and to what extent there is a hearing impairment. As a hearing care professional you not only have to deal with older people, but also with young children if there is a suspicion of hearing damage. As a hearing care professional you mainly have a major advisory role in the field of hearing better. As described earlier, hearing care professionals today have many audiological solutions to help people with their hearing. Providing information is also an important role as a hearing care professional. Other activities include solving complaints, making ear impressions and carrying out minor repairs.
A hearing care professional is therefore specialized in applying audiological solutions to reduce the consequences of hearing damage. A hearing care professional examines clients for any hearing impairment and therefore measures a hearing aid if necessary. There are especially many older people who hear poorly, but there are also plenty of young people who have a hearing impairment. In addition to the well-known hearing care professional, we also know the audiologists, who are more specialized. To end up with an audiologist, it is necessary to get a referral from an ENT doctor. People who come to an audiological center usually have to deal with serious complaints, which cannot be remedied by a hearing care professional or ENT doctor. Think, for example, of sudden deafness or of severe ringing in the ears. An ENT doctor is an ear-nose-throat doctor. ENT doctors usually work in a hospital. People who have to deal with other disabilities, such as visual impairment or an intellectual disability, often end up at an audiological center. A hearing care professional, who has the additional training to become a triage hearing care professional, may independently determine whether clients are eligible for a hearing aid. For this, the triage hearing care professional will first have to perform an audiogram (hearing test).
HOW DOES HEARING DAMAGE OCCUR
In most people, hearing damage occurs naturally due to wear and tear of hair cells in the inner ear. This form of hearing impairment is also called old-age hearing impairment. Hair cells can also be damaged and even die from too loud noises, such as work sounds and headphones. In addition, we know the medical condition hyperacusis, a hypersensitivity to normal sounds. We also know tinnitus that can be caused by various factors, such as high blood pressure or infectious diseases. Tinnitus is the perception of sound without an external sound source being present. Tinnitus refers to the well-known ringing in the ears, which is very bothersome. The hearing aids that a hearing care professional uses are in many cases made by specialized surgical instrument makers.
WHAT DOES A HEARING CARE PROFESSIONAL DO:
- Performing hearing tests
- Making ear impressions
- Fitting equipment
- Advising clients
- Carrying out minor repairs
- Referral of clients
- Performing general shop work
WHAT DOES A HEARING CARE PROFESSIONAL DO:
TRAINING TO BECOME A HEARING CARE PROFESSIONAL
Anyone who aspires to a career as a hearing care professional can best follow the MBO hearing care professional training at level four of about three years. The profession of hearing care professional belongs to the fine mechanics sector. After the hearing care professional training, it is possible to grow further into the further education audiology. In addition, there are also plenty of external training institutes where you can follow a course. Accounting is also important as an entrepreneur.
COMPANIES WHERE A HEARING CARE PROFESSIONAL CAN BE EMPLOYED
As a hearing care professional, you usually work in a hearing care professional's shop, but you can also work in a hospital, audiological center or another type of specialty store. A hearing care professional can also work as an entrepreneur or work as a franchisee. Relatively speaking, there are many hearing care professionals who work as entrepreneurs and/or as branch managers. Of course, a hearing care professional can also simply be employed.
COMPETENCES HEARING CARE PROFESSIONAL
The most important competence of a hearing care professional is your professional knowledge of audiological aids and the ability to work in a customer-oriented way. As a hearing care professional, you have to be well-versed in communication, because you have to deal with different people all day long. Advising and listening is therefore one of the most important tasks of a hearing care professional. In addition, as a hearing care professional, you must have technical insight. Generally important words are service, planning, organizing, flexibility, motivation, service and stress resistance. If you work as an entrepreneur or as a branch manager, it is also important that you have general management skills.
LABOUR MARKET PERSPECTIVE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS A HEARING CARE PROFESSIONAL
The labour market perspective of a well-trained hearing care professional is good, because more and more people are joining who have a bad hearing, due to the ageing of the population. The number of hearing shops has therefore been growing rapidly in recent years. The career opportunities of a hearing care professional should be seen in acting as a manager or starting your own hearing care shop. Completing the additional training to become a triage hearing care professional is also possible, and continuing to become an audiologist is conceivable. The profession of audiologist concerns a profession at hbo level.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY OF A HEARING CARE PROFESSIONAL
An employed hearing care professional earns approximately a salary between 1800 and 2500 euros gross per month depending on age, education and responsibilities. As an independent entrepreneur you can generally earn more but starting your own business within this field will generally not be easy due to the great competition.
The content on this page has been automatically translated from the Dutch language. For this reason, texts and videos on this page may contain small errors.
Lesen Sie diese Informationen auf Horgerateakustiker auf Deutsch.
Lea esta información sobre Audioprotesista en español.
Lees deze informatie over Audicien in het Nederlands.
Mijnzzp.nl