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The differences between hearing instrument specialists and hearing aid specialists 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 specialist. Additionally, a hearing aid specialist has an average salary of $56,107, 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 specialist are patients, financial aid, and developmental disabilities.
| Hearing Instrument Specialist | Hearing Aid Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $50,442 | $56,107 |
| Hourly rate | $24.25 | $26.97 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 3,529 | 25,051 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| 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.
A hearing aid specialist is required to provide hearing tests to clients and to interpret the results. Once results come in, if there is a need to recommend hearing aids, they take ear impressions and prepare hearing aids that are a perfect fit for the patient's ears. A hearing aid specialist's sole task is to select and fit hearing aids for clients.
Hearing instrument specialists and hearing aid specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hearing Instrument Specialist | Hearing Aid Specialist | |
| Average salary | $50,442 | $56,107 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $90,000 | Between $27,000 And $112,000 |
| 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 specialist in terms of educational background:
| Hearing Instrument Specialist | Hearing Aid Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between hearing instrument specialists' and hearing aid specialists' demographics:
| Hearing Instrument Specialist | Hearing Aid Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.5% Female, 41.5% | Male, 48.9% Female, 51.1% |
| 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, 9.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 9.6% White, 56.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |