Negative feedback from SLPs

[AudQuestions]

I am currently an undergrad in communication science disorders. I seem to be drawn more towards audiology than speech therapy, but I keep getting such negativity about audiology from other SLP students, and professional speech therapists.

I know that I do not want to work in a Zounds store, or a Costco dispensing hearing aides on a commission. I have no problem dispensing hearing aides to people, but I would like to do it in a medical setting. Basically I would like to hear what options there are out there in the medical field for audiologists. I am particularly interested in pediatric audiology and working with cochlear implants. Any feedback would be appreciated.

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[BigAl]

My first piece of advise is, don't listen to SLP students (I've been in your shoes). They know as much about audiology as a 5 year old knows about calculus.

Now with that said, you don't have to work at Costco or Hear Rx or Miracle Ear dispensing on a commission. That is not what audiology is about. Reality is that in order for audiologist to make money they need to sell hearing aids, unfortunately. Your interest in peds and cochlear implants will most likely have you end up working in a hospital. The field needs more ped audiologist and they are in demand. There are many opportunities for you in the field, and one of the reasons why I switched from speech to audiology. Not to mention I'm not down with writing SOAP notes or finding out half a year later if my tx is actually working.

I'm sure others can add to this as well.

 

[AudQuestions]

Thank you for your note. I know that the hearing aide dispensing is not what it's all about, but it's all I hear when I ask for feedback from most people in my program and from other ccc-slps I know. Temple doesn't have an Audiology program so there is little feedback there. I also am looking more into audiology for some of the same reasons you have noted, including the length of time it takes to see any progress in a lot of speech therapy. If anyone else has anything to add that would be great.

 

[SoCalAud]

Hi! Welcome to the forum. You sure came to the right place.

I agree with BigAl,

They know as much about audiology as a 5 year old knows about calculus.

I am an undergraduate CD student, as well, and I always hear undergraduate SLP students saying the same thing. Excuse my language, but they don't know a damn about audiology if that's what they're telling you.

If you're interested in working with cochlear implants, I know you will be safe. Trust me, it's a big area in audiology and you will most likely be working at hospitals.

If you haven't applied to AuD programs, yet, my advice to you is to look for AuD programs that have professors specializing in cochlear implants. They are, in my opinion, the best people to talk to. If you call them within their availability and tell them you're interested in specializing in cochlear implants, I'm sure they will be happy to offer you resources and advice.

If you have more questions, please don't hesitate to ask any of us here.

-S

 

[AudQuestions]

If you haven't applied to AuD programs, yet, my advice to you is to look for AuD programs that have professors specializing in cochlear implants. They are, in my opinion, the best people to talk to. If you call them within their availability and tell them you're interested in specializing in cochlear implants, I'm sure they will be happy to offer you resources and advice.

If you have more questions, please don't hesitate to ask any of us here.

-S[/QUOTE]

No, I am a semester behind becasue I was a prt time student for a while, so I will be graduating after the Fall semester comming up. Do you know of schools with professors that specialize in Chochlear Implants?

 

[Kitska]

If you haven't applied to AuD programs, yet, my advice to you is to look for AuD programs that have professors specializing in cochlear implants. They are, in my opinion, the best people to talk to. If you call them within their availability and tell them you're interested in specializing in cochlear implants, I'm sure they will be happy to offer you resources and advice.
...

-S

And I would further that great suggestion by looking for AuD programs in areas where there are lots of opportunities for clinical placements in medical settings. I am thinking New York, Boston, etc. Some of the big hospitals have huge teams of audiologists (like 20-30 or more.) They do diagnostic work, vestibular diagnostics, intraoperative monitoring, CI mapping, as well as hearing aid dispensing, depending on the setting. I am a second year student and also am determined to have a career similar to what you are seeking. I very much enjoy working with hearing aids (definitely like the technology/troubleshooting aspects) but do not want to work on a commission or feel like I am forcing hearing aids on people in order to make a living.

 

[rEliseMe]

Do you know of schools with professors that specialize in Chochlear Implants?

You can browse schools on ASHA's website http://hes.asha.org:8080/EdFind/Doctoral/DoctSearch.aspx and each one should have a list of specialties, or you can add CIs as a search criteria.

I agree that SLPs are lacking in audiology knowledge. There's a reason they're not majoring in it; you can't expect positive feedback from someone who consciously chose not to follow that career path. You don't even really need a degree to sell hearing aids but you need more school than an SLP to be an Audiologist.

 

[AudQuestions]

I think maybe this wasn't the best title for the post. I didn't mean to single out SLPs, but I just had questions about negative feedback I had in general. I do thank everyone who responded to the post. Your advice is very helpful.

 

[Dustbug10]

You see this in every health profession; the heir of superiority. One trait in people I have never dealt particularly well with is overall smugness or self righteousness. Having said that, it is best just to tune it out. Are there bad apples out there that give audiology a bad name? Absolutely, just as there are in any other health profession, regardless of whether sales is included or not. The next time someone references our field in such a light, just give them an evil laugh and play along.

 

[cidanu]

I'll provide a positive contrast to the experience you're having.

At my graduate school, SLP's and AuD's work collaboratively and everyone's skills are appreciated. Of course there is some friendly banter, but it's respectful. In the real world, especially in peds, SLP's and AuD's frequently work in a team. Having knowledge about the other profession is essential to being a good professional in your own field. You need to know when to consult others and when to refer. There are probably a lot of audiologists out there who don't know anything about language, and there are probably a lot of SLP's out there who can't perform a hearing aid check. Maybe that's because the patients they see usually don't include people who need help with both, maybe not. If you work with peds, you need to be able to do both, and you need to lose the attitude for the sake of your patients.

 

[AudQuestions]

cidnau, I see you go to Gallaudet. I have been seriously considering going there myself. What is the scoop?

 

[cidanu]

cidnau, I see you go to Gallaudet. I have been seriously considering going there myself. What is the scoop?

cool! i support your decision, whatever it is. =) let me know if you have any questions.

 

[skypt123]

As an undergrad, they really did not give us much options to go the audiology route even though our degree clearly says "Speech pathology and audiology". I was a speech therapist for over 5 years before I decided to go the Au.D route. I am SO glad I did! Before that, I knew nothing about audiology and didn't really know anyone that could tell me about it. Now that I am a fourth year, I have a unique perspective on both fields. I am able to look and understand situations from both sides. Like you, I LOVE the variety the hopital setting brings, and am currently doing my externship in that setting, but I am also still working as a speech therapist part-time in a nearby school district. Unfortunately, hearing aids is a neccessary evil, but just understand that it is far from all this field has to offer. I say go for it!!! Do you research and homework, and find out if it's something you really want to do. This is coming from someone that loves both fields!

 

[KitKat8545]

I have also experienced this speech therapy bias. My undergrad program only cares about future SLPs, and I am the only future AuD in the entire program. I know it is frustrating, but I know I am making the right decision. When I first decided to pursue audiology, I had the same fears about becoming a hearing aid dispenser. I found an audiologist at the local VA hospital who let me shadow her for an entire semester. It was a very enlightening and wonderful experience, even though I am not interested in working with that population; I am 100% confident in my decision now. I suggest you do something similar (not necessarily at the VA) and I'm sure you will feel the same.
AND: Every time someone looks down on audiology, just remember this: you will have your doctorate degree with only one extra year of classes! If a SLP wants their doctorate, they will have to write a PhD thesis...just saying, who's really coming out on top?

 

[AudQuestions]

I am going to shadow audiologists at CHOP and I hope that that will confirm my interest in audiology.

 

[cidanu]

I am going to shadow audiologists at CHOP and I hope that that will confirm my interest in audiology.

awesome! CHOP has a really well-respected audiology program in the mid-Atlantic. gallaudet has sent several students there and one will be doing their 4th year there next year.

 

[AudQuestions]

awesome! CHOP has a really well-respected audiology program in the mid-Atlantic. gallaudet has sent several students there and one will be doing their 4th year there next year.

It was pretty interesting, but I only go to see the ENT support team.

 

[cidanu]

It was pretty interesting, but I only go to see the ENT support team.

is there a separate team apart from ENT? i don't know too much about them. what did you think? are you going to be an audiologist?

 

[AudQuestions]

is there a separate team apart from ENT? i don't know too much about them. what did you think? are you going to be an audiologist?

Well they have thier own seperate part of the hospital, the childhood communication center, with about 40 audiologists, some of whome work at satelite centers. Within the childhood communication center, there are different pods, one that takes ENT referals, one that works on hearing aids and rehabilitation, one for chochlear implants, and maybe more. I was with the pod that dealt with the ENT referals and mostly did testing of various kinds.

I think I want to be an audiologist, but I am having a hard time seeing what they do beyond hearing exams. I think I would get bored doing just what I saw durring my shadowing.

 

[Smash9]

I think I want to be an audiologist, but I am having a hard time seeing what they do beyond hearing exams. I think I would get bored doing just what I saw durring my shadowing.

As an audiologist your scope of practice is much broader than hearing exams. Especially if you are interested in CIs, there is a good chance that you will not only be mapping CIs, you may also be involved in intra-operative monitoring and electrophysiological assessments. Not to mention, if you are working in a hospital setting there is a good chance you will be involved in balance assessments and some rehabilitation.

I am a 3rd year Au.D. student, and completely agree that if all we did was test hearing all day it would be a very boring job! I personally love hearing aids because of the interaction with the patients and the gratification of improving a person's life. I'm sure a CI audiologist would see similar rewards.

Good luck to you whatever you decide (..but you should definitely decide Au.D. )

 

[AudQuestions]

I have come back to Audiology. I mostly did this becasue I profoundly hate speech therapy.

 

[TheEarDoc]

If you want to do CI's and hearing aids then pediatric audiology is your calling. It's extremely demanding, but extremely rewarding. I love working with kiddos. I'm labeled as the "pediatric audiologist" in our hospital and often get phone calls from pediatricians asking me questions which still throws me to this day haha.

As for the SLP bias, you will have that in undergrad. I know I did. Just take it with a grain of salt and if you're interested in audiology especially medical audiology then you definitely want to get to a large children's hospital as one person said Boston Children's is a good one. A good person you may want to contact if you are really interested in pediatric audiology is Dr. Brian Fligor. If I remember correctly he works at Boston Children's. I got to meet him a couple times and hear him lecture and he is amazing!

I have a huge respect for SLP's I almost married two of them in my past (that's pretty common!), and I have had the pleasure of working with some amazing SLP's who respected my scope of practice and knew enough Audiology to be extremely helpful and would often ask me to talk through their therapy plans for patients undergoing aural rehab. An SLP who is competent in audiology can be one of your best friends in the work place. Same with a pediatrician who just gets what we do or the ENT who knows we are more than just glorified audiometer helper monkeys.

 

[SoCalAud]

I have come back to Audiology. I mostly did this becasue I profoundly hate speech therapy.

My Aural Re/habilitation professor did the same just 10 years ago and hearing these stories about why she hated it! It was entertaining.

I do have a lot of respect for SLP's. They have to face so many patients with different types of disorders. I think working with children with autism is the most challenging!

 

[rEliseMe]

My Aural Re/habilitation professor did the same just 10 years ago and hearing these stories about why she hated it! It was entertaining.

We have an audiology professor in our department who is dual-certified and I think she's the first professional I've known who doesn't have a strong preference. Granted, she's more interested in audiology, but she obviously doesn't hate SLP or she wouldn't have certified in it! I think this balance is great, but I'll never have it.