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What is an Audiologist?
An Audiologist is a professional concerned with all types of hearing impairments and their relationship to communication disorders. Audiologists are involved in the identification, assessment, diagnosis, evaluation, treatment and management of disorders of peripheral or central auditory impairments (hearing loss/impairment and/or deafness), balance system disorders/dysfunction, tinnitus and other neural systems.
The Audiologist is trained to identify and evaluate the range, nature and degree of hearing/hearing loss in babies, children and adults. They are also involved in audiological (aural) habilitation and rehabilitation to both children and adults, and are trained and capable with regard to planning, conducting, directing and participating in the management of persons with hearing loss, whether it be referral for medical management, or theselection, fitting and provision of suitable hearing aids and other assistive listening devices to both children and adults.
Audiologists are also involved in the prevention of hearing loss through auditory training, counselling, guidance and the provision and fitting of hearing protective devices such as noise plugs.
What is a Speech Therapist?
A Speech-Language Therapist is a highly trained professional who evaluates and treats children and adults who have difficulty communicatingwith others as well as those who have difficulty sucking, chewing or swallowing food or liquids.
The following people would require the services of a Speech-Language Therapist:
Speech Disorders
People who have a problem with the way they pronounce speech sounds (articulation).
People who have difficulty developing the speech patterns we use to communicate (phonology).
People who have difficulty planning and co-ordinating the movements needed to make speech sounds (apraxia of speech).
People who stutter.
People who have voice problems such as hoarseness.
Language Disorders
People who have difficulty understanding language (receptive difficulties).
People who have difficulty using language (expressive language difficulties).
People who have difficulty with social communication, or the way we speak to each other and why we speak to each other (pragmatic language).
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