Hear is your chance

Talk yourself into a career in speech therapy and audiology, writes Usha Albuquerque

Joining a medical college as an MBBS student is not the only route for entering the medical field. With the increase in medical facilities, polyclinics, diagnostic centres, labs, hospitals and clinics, there is a glaring need for various paramedical experts, technicians, nurses and pharmacists.

Among the medical practitioners required in growing numbers are those qualified in speech therapy and audiology. They are professionals who with the use of modern technology have been able to make a significant difference to the lives of people with speech and hearing disabilities.

Today, it is no longer necessary to live life with a hearing disability. Audiologists are medical specialists who diagnose and treat people affected by hearing and speech defects, as well as language defects, including problems like articulation and stammering. The main area of work involves diagnosing speech and hearing defects, and evolving therapy for fluency and voice articulation. The audiologist uses an audiometer to assess the extent of hearing defects, and recommends treatment.

Many audiologists need to work closely with children born with hearing defects. Congenital hearing loss is common among Indian children, due to jaundice, infection, an antibiotics overdose transmitted by the mother to the child during pregnancy, or even the lack of sufficient oxygen supply during birth. Early intervention requires early detection and diagnosis, ideally within a few days of birth. Today, a host of sophisticated audiological equipment is available to diagnose deafness in a newborn.

Once a defect is detected, an audiologist can carry out auditory tests and counsel the family with regard to the treatment and options available to resolve the problem. Often a child’s hearing can be restored with a cochlear implant. Audiologists work closely with such cases and provide post-surgical rehabilitation therapy, to improve speech and language skills, after the surgical operation.

Speech therapists and audiologists work with patients of all ages, particularly older patients with hearing disabilities who may require hearing aids. Fitting of the right kind of aids and helping patients respond to sounds through such aids are other responsibilities of audiologists. Audioloists may also be required to work in schools for children with speech defects, where language equipment is used for language training, such as sign language, lip reading, and other articulation exercises.

Training talk

There are specialised courses in training in audiology and speech therapy. The B. Sc course covers speech therapy and hearing impairement, while at the postgraduate level you can choose either of the two disciplines. A large number of medical colleges and private institutions offer the B.Sc in audiology for students who have cleared the plus two examination, with physics, chemistry and mathematics or biology. Selection is normally on the basis of an entrance test. For practising as an audiologist, a Master’s or Ph. D degree from an accredited university is important. You will also be required to complete an internship.

The Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped at Mumbai and the All-India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore University, and the Audiology Department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, and the PGI, Chandigarh, are among the premier institutes for training.

These specialists have ample job opportunities in hospitals and medical centres, clinics, private schools, universities, rehabilitation or speech and hearing centres. Audiologists also work in government hospitals and dispensaries, as well as private nursing homes and polyclinics, and with practising ENT specialists and hearing aid manufacturers. Those interested can further their prospects by investing in higher studies, to go in for research and development work in institutional laboratories or with pharmaceutical companies

With the rapid advances in diagnostic technology, there are increasing job opportunities in India, but a huge scope for trained audiologists outside India, in countries such as Australia, the US and Canada. However, this is a job which requires a lot of patience, empathy and sensitivity, and only those who have such qualities will find satisfaction in helping others hear and speak better.