In the United States, audiologists have a doctoral degree, or PhD, in audiology and must pass rigorous testing before they are licensed to practice. Audiologists also serve several months to a year as an intern in order to complete the education they received in the classroom. They are trained to do a variety of complex and lengthy tests to determine the severity of hearing loss and any potential balance problems that may be related to the ear canal. Most audiologists are members of the American Board of Audiology.

While an audiologist can not do surgery or prescribe certain medications, he or she can do hearing tests on infants, children, adults and the elderly. Based on test results, the audiologist can determine whether there is hearing loss, how profound that loss is and whether the problem can be corrected by hearing aids or other means. In many cases, your audiologist can recommend the right type of hearing aid for your hearing loss. If there is a medical problem to be treated, which happens in about 10 percent of hearing losses, the audiologist will refer you to an ear, nose and throat specialist.

When your hearing aid arrives, your audiologist will carefully adjust it to fit properly and give you the best combination of sound amplification and clarity. Many people are disturbed to learn they have substantial hearing loss. Fortunately, audiologists are also trained to counsel their patients and family members. They help them come to terms with their limitations and supporting them throughout the adjustment period. They can also explain the situation to family members and give them tools to help their loved one adjust to any hearing problems they may have.

Some focus on testing and do routine hearing tests on children at the grade school level or specialize in infant hearing loss. Others may travel to various job sites in order to evaluate the potential for hearing damage and recommend Hearing Safety Programs to job managers as a way to prevent future hearing damage to employees. Research audiologists spend their days looking for ways to improve our current sound amplification devices from hearing aids to sound attenuation earmuffs for pilots. Although you may not see these researchers, they contribute a great deal to advancing the technologies that restore hearing to millions. Audiologists are experts at explaining the details of hearing loss and how to use hearing aids. A good audiologist will take the time to explain all procedures clearly and will give you the reassurance you need during any tests or procedures.

Sports medicine offers a challenging field of work varying from injury prevention to treatment and recovery. Innovative choice of careers has become quite prevalent these days, following a broad change in choosing careers over the years. While the reasons may vary from new fields opening up to increasing awareness, sports medicine careers is just one field that has benefited by more people opting for it. There are educational and professional criteria to be fulfilled, for a successful sports medicine career.

Educational aspect deals with studying for a profession in sports medicine. There is no separate category called sports medicine education; the term just refers to applying the principles of medicine, for best performance and treatment of injuries from exercise, sports and physical activity. There is not even a specific called sport medicine education or a degree that can be obtained for this. On the contrary, a number of fields in medical science and exercise together form the filed of study, to pursue sports medicine career.

Exercise science is a technical learning of physiological and biomechanical principles that tell us about the ability of the human body to adapt to various movements and physical activities. When studying exercise science, apart from learning it, research is also important. After completing the learning of exercise science, the student then proceeds to carry out a professional assignment in both clinical and academic environment. This gives the person the required understanding as well as the real world experience before starting to treat patients. If leaving at this level, the sports medicine careers open for pursuit are those of a fitness instructor, nutritionist, scientific researcher or an academic professor.

Health and medical professional working in the field of sports medicine come from diverse backgrounds and prior experience such as training of athletes, exercise physiology, primary care, physical therapy, sports psychology, nursing and nutrition; and they bring the unique learning an experience of these fields into their treatment methods. Thus, their background is important to their continuous success in sports medicine careers.