doctorofaudiology
16 Years Experience
Marlboro, NJ
Male, 40
I've been an audiologist for 16 years. I work with all types of patients, focusing on balance disorders, tinnitus, and hearing aids. As I have worked in an Ear, Nose, Throat setting much of my career, I am also exposed to much of the medical side of audiology. ASK ME ANYTHING about being an audiologist.
DISCLAIMER: If you feel that you have a hearing or balance issue, please be sure to see your local ENT or audiologist. This Q&A is not designed to treat or diagnose your problems.
A long and strange road for me. Most don't even know what audiology is unless they or a family member has some sort of hearing loss or balance problem. A study was done years ago, whereas lawyers, doctors, and audiologists were asked at what age they decided to become a lawyer, etc. Doctors and lawyers were something like 6-8 years old, audiologist 21. I wanted to get into health care and wanted to specialize in something. I thought of becoming a dentist, optometrist, etc., but I'm not going to bore you with details. Just turned out that after learning about the ears, it became interesting and exciting...and here I am.
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Many people believed at one point that IPOD earbuds were dangerous. Further research does refute this. You would essentially have to wear your earbuds for 8 hours a day or more at 80% or more volume almost every day for there to be any effect on your hearing. Additionally, Apple combat this by reducing the volume of later generation IPODs. Personally, I would recommend any earbuds or headphones that allow for a good seal in the ear. If background noises are not audible and the volume of the device is not too high, then you have a good pair.
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Most likely, no. However, I urge you to follow-up with the audiologist and/or an ENT within one month to ensure that the fluid has resolved. Once the fluid resolves, your daughter should be back to normal. Just make sure you don't "leave it be".
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It's the other way around....everyone asks for free advice. If it's a simple question regarding noise exposure or earwax, I'll address it. If people ask me questions about having a tumor or something that sounds serious in nature, I urge them to make an appointment with the appropriate medical professional. When I'm not a the job, I don't preach the job. =)
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Antiques Dealer
How easy is it to forge a rare piece, and are fakes a big problem in the antiquing world?
Professional Bull Rider
Have you been seriously injured while bull-riding?
Air Traffic Controller
What was it like in the tower on 9/11?
You name it. =) Aging of the ears, noise trauma, certain medications, stress/anxiety/tension, back problems, earwax, hair on the eardrums, tumors, blood circulation problems, circulatory problems...... Now before you start thinking that you have a tumor, please be sure to visit and audiologist for an evaluation. Having your hearing tested can be a gateway into learning about why tinnitus exists. Self diagnosis is not the answer.
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It depends on what you do with the Q-tip. If you use the Q-tip to clean the external bowl of your ear, fine. If you decide to insert the Q-tip deep into your ear, you could risk puncturing your ear drum. You could also risk damaging the lining of your ear canal if you are too rough; this could also lead to ear infections. More commonly, when using Q-tips, wax simply just gets pushed farther down the ear canal, closer to the eardrum. Long story short, I don't use Q-tips at all. You shouldn't either. If you are prone to wax impaction, get a professional to clean it periodically.
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Without getting into too many specifics, it's all over the place. It depends on whether you go into private practice, work for an ENT, a hospital, work for yourself, at a university, whether you sell hearing aids or not (and if so, the commission scale), and the region you are working in. For example, an audiologist in New York City may not make a huge salary, but may have relatively good commission given the amount of hearing aids sold and how much they sell for. Audiologists can make six figures, but that is usually done by selling a large amount of hearing aids.
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