What are big differences in scope of practice between Doctors of Audiology and Hearing Instrument Specialist? From what I've read they can pretty much do the same thing but that can't be right.
Scope of Practice
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They can be pretty similar but as an audiologist you can work in public schools, hospitals (including the VA), the military, and academia. HIS typically aren't found in these settings. More specifically, scope of practice would differ in terms of vestibular, cerumen management, and possibly electrophysiological testing. HIS aren't going to be testing real young kids. Just about anything unrelated to dispensing hearing aids is outside the realm of HIS. I know you could use evoked potentials for threshold estimation in difficult to test patients but these patients are not likely to see an HIS.
There may be exceptions though and I may be leaving things out that don't come to mind at the moment.
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An HIS's scope of practice simply includes hearing aid fittings. They are allowed to do hearing screenings to obtain the information they need to fit said hearing aids. They are not allowed to practice in any other scope then hearing loss identification, hearing aid selection, and hearing aid fitting and are not health care providers. They are not allowed to see children.
An Audiologist's scope of practice =
Audiologists provide comprehensive diagnostic and treatment/rehabilitative services for auditory, vestibular, and related impairments. These services are provided to individuals across the entire age span from birth through adulthood; to individuals from diverse language, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds; and to individuals who have multiple disabilities. This position statement is not intended to be exhaustive; however, the activities described reflect current practice within the profession. Practice activities related to emerging clinical, technological, and scientific developments are not precluded from consideration as part of the scope of practice of an audiologist. Such innovations and advances will result in the periodic revision and updating of this document. It is also recognized that specialty areas identified within the scope of practice will vary among the individual providers. ASHA also recognizes that credentialed professionals in related fields may have knowledge, skills, and experience that could be applied to some areas within the scope of audiology practice.
and
During the assessment phase, audiologists perform tests of Body Function and Structure. Examples of these types of tests include otoscopic examination, pure-tone audiometry, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions measurements, and speech audiometry. Activity/Participation limitations and restrictions are sometimes addressed by audiologists through case history, interview, questionnaire, and counseling. For example, a question such as Do you have trouble understanding while on the telephone? or Can you describe the difficulties you experience when you participate in a conversation with someone who is not familiar to you? would be considered an assessment of Activity/Participation limitation or restriction. Questionnaires that require clients to report the magnitude of difficulty that they experience in certain specified settings can sometimes be used to measure aspects of Activity/Participation. For example: Because of my hearing problems, I have difficulty conversing with others in a restaurant. In addition, Environmental and Personal Factors also need to be taken into consideration by audiologists as they treat individuals with auditory, vestibular, and other related impairments. In the above question regarding conversation in a restaurant, if the factor of noise (i.e., a noisy restaurant) is added to the question, this represents an Environmental Factor. Examples of Personal Factors might include a person's background or culture that influences his or her reaction to the use of a hearing aid or cochlear implant. The use of the ICF framework (WHO, 2001) may help audiologists broaden their perspective concerning their role in evaluating a client's needs or when designing and providing comprehensive services to their clients. Overall, audiologists work to improve quality of life by reducing impairments of body functions and structures, Activity limitations/Participation restrictions and Environmental barriers of the individuals they serve.
There is more if needed as this information is readily available on ASHA and AAAs website, but this should suffice.
An Audiologist's scope of practice =
Audiologists provide comprehensive diagnostic and treatment/rehabilitative services for auditory, vestibular, and related impairments. These services are provided to individuals across the entire age span from birth through adulthood; to individuals from diverse language, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds; and to individuals who have multiple disabilities. This position statement is not intended to be exhaustive; however, the activities described reflect current practice within the profession. Practice activities related to emerging clinical, technological, and scientific developments are not precluded from consideration as part of the scope of practice of an audiologist. Such innovations and advances will result in the periodic revision and updating of this document. It is also recognized that specialty areas identified within the scope of practice will vary among the individual providers. ASHA also recognizes that credentialed professionals in related fields may have knowledge, skills, and experience that could be applied to some areas within the scope of audiology practice.
and
During the assessment phase, audiologists perform tests of Body Function and Structure. Examples of these types of tests include otoscopic examination, pure-tone audiometry, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions measurements, and speech audiometry. Activity/Participation limitations and restrictions are sometimes addressed by audiologists through case history, interview, questionnaire, and counseling. For example, a question such as Do you have trouble understanding while on the telephone? or Can you describe the difficulties you experience when you participate in a conversation with someone who is not familiar to you? would be considered an assessment of Activity/Participation limitation or restriction. Questionnaires that require clients to report the magnitude of difficulty that they experience in certain specified settings can sometimes be used to measure aspects of Activity/Participation. For example: Because of my hearing problems, I have difficulty conversing with others in a restaurant. In addition, Environmental and Personal Factors also need to be taken into consideration by audiologists as they treat individuals with auditory, vestibular, and other related impairments. In the above question regarding conversation in a restaurant, if the factor of noise (i.e., a noisy restaurant) is added to the question, this represents an Environmental Factor. Examples of Personal Factors might include a person's background or culture that influences his or her reaction to the use of a hearing aid or cochlear implant. The use of the ICF framework (WHO, 2001) may help audiologists broaden their perspective concerning their role in evaluating a client's needs or when designing and providing comprehensive services to their clients. Overall, audiologists work to improve quality of life by reducing impairments of body functions and structures, Activity limitations/Participation restrictions and Environmental barriers of the individuals they serve.
There is more if needed as this information is readily available on ASHA and AAAs website, but this should suffice.
