DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING
SERVICES
Office Hours:
Monday-Friday
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Address:
1810 Oregon Pike
Lancaster, PA 17601
Contact:
717.397.4741 V/TTY
717.291.1830 FAX
717.509.1769 TTY MSG ONLY
717.509.1769 VP (Sorenson)
CONTACT US!
Hearing aid Manufacturers
we have:
Audio-D
Danavox
General Electronics
Oticon
Phonak
Resound
Siemens
Starkey
Telex
Widex
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Focus on the Professional
Christine Wiedmeyer, M.S., CCC-A
Director of Audiology
There are many professionals who deal with the ears, and it can be hard to know which one is which. If you turn to the yellow pages for direction, you will see many listings for hearing aids, but how do you know if you need a hearing aid? Many will advertise free hearing tests. Should you go there? There are 3 main professionals that deal with the ears: hearing instrument specialists, audiologists, and otolaryngologists. Let’s start with the hearing instrument specialist.
A hearing instrument specialist, formerly known as a hearing aid dealer, is licensed by the state to dispense and fit hearing aids. The educational requirement is a high school diploma, or equivalent, and satisfactory completion of a written, oral and practical exam to obtain a license to practice. This credential is marked by H.I.S. after one’s name. If a comparable national exam is also passed then the individual is “board certified”, and the credential may become B.C., H.I.S. Some hearing instrument specialists with two or more years of experience may participate in coursework through the American Conference of Audioprosthology (ACA). An audioprosthologist, not to be confused with an audiologist, has completed coursework equivalent to 15 credit hours, though this is not a degree program. State licensure requires continuing education credits to maintain licensure. It should be noted that health insurance companies, including Medicare, do not recognize hearing instrument specialists of any type to have the necessary training to be credentialed providers, and therefore they cannot bill insurance for any hearing testing (hence the “free hearing screening” offers).
Audiologists are university-trained providers who have either a master’s degree (denoted most commonly by M.S., M.A., or M.Ed.) which is typically a 2 year program beyond the 4 year undergraduate degree (B.S. or B.A.), or a doctoral level degree (either 2 or more years beyond the master’s degree, or 4 years beyond a bachelor’s degree). As of 2007, all graduating audiologists must have a doctoral degree (denoted by Ph.D. or Au.D.). The audiologist is trained in the diagnosis and non-medical treatment of hearing loss and balance disorders, and also deals with tinnitus (ringing in the ears) treatment and Central Auditory Processing Disorder. Audiologists must have a year of clinical supervision, as well as pass a national certification examination. In the past, this certification was denoted by the Certificate of Clinical Competency in Audiology (CCC-A). In addition, a state license is required to practice, and continuing education credits must be earned to maintain licensure. When diagnostic testing indicates that there may be a medical reason causing auditory complaints, the patient is referred back to his primary care physician, or to an otolaryngologist for management.
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