How To Become A Clinical Audiologist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a clinical audiologist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Sara Burdak

A clinical audiologist is a trained healthcare professional who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of hearing and balance problems. They utilize their knowledge and expertise in audiology to assess hearing problems, determine the cause, make a diagnosis and create a treatment plan based on their assessment.

Clinical audiologists work with patients of all ages. They can be found in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, correctional facilities, retirement homes, outpatient clinics, and schools. A successful clinical audiologist should have the relevant technical skills as well as proficiency with audio tools such as audiometers and hearing aid analyzers. Other essential skills include communication skills, attention to detail, analytical skills, and interpersonal skills.

Clinical audiologists typically work 40 hours a week Monday to Friday from 9 to 5. Their work schedule also depends on the client's availability; hence it is common for them to work over the weekends and late evenings.

What general advice would you give to a clinical audiologist?

Dr. Sara Burdak

Chief Audiology Officer, Starkey Hearing Technologies

Never stop learning. Graduation is just the first step in your professional career. At Starkey, I've worn many hats, but I've always had a passion for training. I now oversee a global Education and Audiology team and our Government Services division, working with several thousand hearing healthcare professionals, on an annual basis, to provide better hearing to their patients. The hearing industry is always evolving. Just this year, Starkey unveiled the world's first custom rechargeable hearing aid and a new feature called Edge Mode, which allows a hearing aid wearer to adapt to a new listening environment with just a simple tap of the device. As the needs of patients change, the hearing industry will need bright minds who are not afraid to take that next step in the hearing aid revolution.

ScoreClinical AudiologistUS Average

Salary

5.1

Avg. Salary $65,143

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.53%

Asian 5.09%

Black or African American 0.96%

Hispanic or Latino 4.55%

Unknown 5.50%

White 83.38%

Gender

female 81.25%

male 18.75%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

7.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.0

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a clinical audiologist

Explore clinical audiologist education requirements

Most common clinical audiologist degrees

Bachelor's

41.6 %

Master's

37.4 %

Doctorate

20.1 %

Start to develop specific clinical audiologist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	29.66%
Rehabilitation	13.08%
Hearing Loss	10.06%
Test Results	7.23%
Listening Devices	7.20%

Complete relevant clinical audiologist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New clinical audiologists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a clinical audiologist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real clinical audiologist resumes.

Research clinical audiologist duties and responsibilities

Verify that students' hearing aids and FM systems are functioning appropriately.
Provide post sales assistance in auditory rehabilitation to necessary individuals.
Deliver in-service programs for hearing impair teaching staff on equipment and amplification updates.
Counsele patients and family members with dealing with communication deficiencies and other audiological issues.

Prepare your clinical audiologist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your clinical audiologist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a clinical audiologist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable clinical audiologist resume templates

Build a professional clinical audiologist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your clinical audiologist resume.