This article is a part of the November/December 2018, Volume 30, Number 6, Audiology Today issue.
The July/August 2018 issue of Audiology Today includes only Part 1 of Larry Engelmann’s article on “Differentiating Audiologists from Hearing Aid Dealers,” but I have read enough to reply in kind here and now. I agree with him completely that inflating titles and incorrectly assigning titles can be very misleading to the public, but let’s apply these sins to both populations he addresses in his article.
Nonaudiologists who sell hearing aids often give themselves the title of “hearing instrument specialists.” I agree that this can be seen as an example of both inflating and incorrect title assignment. I disagree completely, however, with the derogatory title of “hearing aid dealers.” A better one would be “hearing aid practitioners.” By the way, I’m not 100 percent sure as to when and where the use of the word “instrument” came into being; to me it brings to mind banjos and pianos.
Audiologists also sometimes like to inflate our titles. Look at the way many of us put on our doors and business cards “Dr So and So AuD.” Isn’t that the “Department of Redundancy Department?” Why not just keep it simple? Either “Dr So and So” or “So and So AuD.” I’ve seen even better: “Dr So and So, BSc, MSc, AuD.” Yikes! Last time I looked, one had to have a bachelor’s degree to obtain a higher degree.
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