The Audiologist's Assistant is a certificate program that prepares individuals to assist licensed audiologists. Enrollment is open to all individuals sponsored by a licensed audiologist who will oversee the clinical training of the assistant.
The audiologist's assistant works under the supervision of an audiologist, to help the audiologist work more productively. Our program at NSU prepares the individual to work under the supervision of a licensed audiologist, performing selected tasks in patient assessment and working with hearing aids and other amplification systems.
The Audiologist's Assistants program at NSU is 100% distance learning. Students access a website that contains all of their course related resources. For more information see links below, email audassist@nova.edu or call 954-262-7745.
How to Enroll
Frequently Asked Questions
The audiologist's assistant works under the supervision of an audiologist, to help the audiologist work more productively. Our program at NSU prepares the student to work under the supervision of a licensed audiologist, performing selected tasks in patient assessment and working with hearing aids and other amplification systems.
The Audiologist's Assistants program is 100% distance learning. Students access a Web site that contains course resources such as the outline, self-quizzes and web-based self-tests and tutorials. The Web site allows the student to take tests on-line. Students need to have a Windows PC computer. Portions do not work on Mac computers.
The student can complete the training materials at his or her own pace. Six months are allotted to complete each course. A $75 fee will be assessed if the student does not complete the program within this time frame.
Narrated slideshows present all of the course content along with an accessible notes tab for viewable access to the audio portion.
The Diagnostics Course includes a copy of the AudSim audiometer simulator that can be used free of charge for the duration of the course. The simulator guides the student through the process of obtaining pure-tone air-conduction thresholds and has practice cases. The student is graded on accuracy of obtaining thresholds using this software.
Assignments are defined in the course materials. Some assignments are completed independently by the student (e.g. web-surfing and viewing photographs of normal and abnormal ear canals). Most assignments are completed in conjunction with the supervising audiologist at the student's work site.
There are two different courses; you can enroll in just one or in both courses. One is in Diagnostics, one is in Amplification.
The NSU Audiologist's Assistant Training Program is a certificate program. The program is intended to offer structured training under the guidance of a licensed audiologist for current or aspiring audiology assistants. Once you complete a course, you will receive a certificate of completion in the mail, and a copy of the certificate will be uploaded electronically within the course.
Please note: This is a non-degree seeking course and college credit is not awarded for these courses. Therefore, the courses do not have an associated transcript.
Each course costs $416.00 and the fee for the course is paid at the time of registration. The fee must be paid by credit card and the university accepts Mastercard, Visa, Discover, and American Express.
Diagnostic-related tasks the assistant will be trained to complete are:
- Otoscopic inspection.
- Simple middle ear measurement.
- Assisting with patient history and collecting patient background information.
- Pure-tone air-conduction threshold testing on patients who have previously had a comprehensive audiological evaluation by an audiologist.
- Daily biological calibration checks.
- Infection control duties.
- Assisting the audiologist with testing children using visual reinforcement audiometry and play audiometry and distracting children during immittance testing.
- Setting up patients for electronystagmography/videonystagmography and auditory brainstem response testing. The trainee is NOT taught to conduct these tests.
The tasks the assistant will be trained for include:
- Otoscopic inspection
- Making impressions for earmolds/ hearing aid shells
- Modification of earmolds/shells
- Hearing aid troubleshooting
- Simple in-office repair and hearing aid cleaning
- Electroacoustic analysis of hearing aids
- Performing a hearing aid orientation - how to instruct the patient in basic care and use of the hearing aid (insertion, removal, adjusting volume, batteries, etc.)
- Completing basic paperwork such as repair forms, sales forms and warranty information
- Administering a hearing aid satisfaction form
- Discussing ALD and hearing aid accessory options with patients
The program is self-paced. The trainee can begin at any time, and progress at his or her own pace. Since the course does not earn college credit, it is not tied to any semester dates. (As mentioned above, we allow 6 months to complete each course without charging any additional fees.)
To contact us by phone, call 954-262-7745. To contact us by email, audassist@nova.edu . Please allow 24 hours for response to all communication.
We respect the fact that your audiologist is responsible for all care provided to his or her patients, and has the duty to only delegate tasks that State law permits, and that the audiologist believes is appropriate in that situation. In order to receive the certificate of completion for the course, you need to successfully pass the exams even about topics that the audiologist doesn't want you to perform.
However, if the audiologist does not want to train you on a specific task, then the audiologist simply indicates that on the assignment form and the final master signature form, and you will be given credit.
The trainee must have a supervising audiologist who sponsors the training and completes verification of student progress on clinical assignments.
Additionally the student needs to have:
- A computer
- Internet connection
- Google Chrome of Mozille Firefox browser
- Adobe Air for AudSim in Diagnostics Course
The training program does not prepare the assistant to work independently. The training is meant to guide the student through the training needed to assist a licensed audiologist in his or her daily activities.
No. The program is intended for training and information purposes only; NSU is not responsible for registering or issuing state licenses for audiology assistants. Your supervising audiologist and you are responsible for determining whether you meet all of the necessary state license regulations to work as an audiology assistant. Please refer to your state licensing body for more information on the relevant regulations and the necessary steps to obtain a state license/registration to legally work as an audiology assistant. (Some states do not permit audiologist assistants.)
Those completing the course satisfactorily receive a certificate of completion. Some states accept this training as one of the accepted means for the supervising audiologist to verify that the assistant is appropriately trained. Again, please refer to your state licensing department to learn their requirements.
Sample Course Materials
Types of activities in the Audiologist's Assistant Program can be found below.
Courses are sequential - you can complete each module at a time.
Within each module, there are specific instructions.
Web Learning Module Slide Shows
The course has PowerPoint presentations that accompany audio / visual slide shows.
The course is self-paced. These slide shows are typically brief, so that the student can fit the learning within "down time" in a work day, if desired. Those who have more time to devote at one sitting simply click on to the next learning activity in succession.
Some modules have informal self tests, such as this one on setting up a patient for ABR testing.
There are self tests that can be retaken as many times as desired. The self tests do not count towards the course grade. There are also graded unit tests, which can be taken only once. A sample of a portion of a self-quiz is shown below.
There are unit tests for each module (diagnostic and amplification). The tests are open-book since they administered on one's computer; however, the tests are time limited so that there would not be enough time for the student just to look up the information. The student has to understand the material to pass the test in the time provided. These unit tests can not be retaken.
The tests and the assignments together earn the student the points towards course completion.
Purchase of the assistant's diagnostic testing module includes limited-time use of AuDStudent.com's audiometer simulator. Using this computer program allows the student to learn the principals of pure-tone air-conduction testing before working with actual patients. For more information on the simulator, see AuDStudent.
By special arrangement with the company, the simulator version does not teach the student masking, only unmasked pure-tone air-conduction testing, as bone-conduction and masking are not within the scope of practice taught in this program.
The intent of this training is to permit the Assistant to test patients who return for hearing retesting as a part of their hearing aid service. Testing for amplification purposes is typically not covered by insurance; therefore, the audiologist may decide it is appropriate to have the assistant conduct this type of routine, non-diagnostic testing. The Assistant is trained to recognize significant changes in hearing so that the audiologist can be alerted to those cases, and so that the Audiologist can make the decision on whether additional testing is needed to manage the patient's care.
The student is given assignments that are completed under the supervision of the licensed audiologist who is sponsoring the assistant. For example, after learning about hearing aid warranty and repair, the audiologist is asked to explain office procedures to the assistant and show him or her how to process repair orders.
- View an example assignment (PDF).
View sample syllabus of our Diagnostics and Amplification modules.