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The differences between hearing instrument specialists and 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 specialist. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, 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 specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Hearing Instrument Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $50,442 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $24.25 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | - | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 3,529 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| 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.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Hearing instrument specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hearing Instrument Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $50,442 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $90,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a hearing instrument specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Hearing Instrument Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between hearing instrument specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Hearing Instrument Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.5% Female, 41.5% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| 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, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 11% |