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The differences between hearing instrument specialists and hearing aid dispensers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a hearing instrument specialist and a hearing aid dispenser. Additionally, a hearing aid dispenser has an average salary of $50,821, which is higher than the $50,442 average annual salary of a hearing instrument specialist.
The top three skills for a hearing instrument specialist include patients, patient care and customer service. The most important skills for a hearing aid dispenser are hearing loss, patients, and hearing evaluations.
| Hearing Instrument Specialist | Hearing Aid Dispenser | |
| Yearly salary | $50,442 | $50,821 |
| Hourly rate | $24.25 | $24.43 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 3,529 | 25,014 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A hearing instrument specialist specializes in assessing people who have hearing problems. They must match these persons with the best assistive hearing device available. They are responsible for attending to people who have hearing problems and carrying out hearing tests such as pure tone screening or immittance screening. They also also select, dispense, and fit hearing aids.
Hearing aid dispensers are medical professionals who are responsible for evaluating the case of patients with hearing problems while recommending the best hearing aid to help improve their condition. These specialists must employ the hearing test called audiogram test that indicates the different degrees of hearing loss of their patients. They must guide their patients to go through the entire process of choosing the appropriate hearing aid. Hearing aid dispensers must also create ear impressions and earmolds to make the necessary adjustments to device settings to ensure a comfortable level of hearing.
Hearing instrument specialists and hearing aid dispensers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hearing Instrument Specialist | Hearing Aid Dispenser | |
| Average salary | $50,442 | $50,821 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $90,000 | Between $27,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | - |
| Highest paying state | - | - |
| Best paying company | - | - |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a hearing instrument specialist and a hearing aid dispenser in terms of educational background:
| Hearing Instrument Specialist | Hearing Aid Dispenser | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Speech-Language Pathology |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between hearing instrument specialists' and hearing aid dispensers' demographics:
| Hearing Instrument Specialist | Hearing Aid Dispenser | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.5% Female, 41.5% | Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 7.6% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 10.3% White, 51.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |