Audiologists and speech-language pathologists

NOC

31112

Audiologists diagnose and treat individuals with hearing loss, tinnitus and balance problems. Speech-language pathologists diagnose and treat communication disorders including speech, language and swallowing disorders.

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Full NOC Description

Audiologists diagnose, evaluate and treat individuals with peripheral and central hearing loss, tinnitus and balance problems. Speech-language pathologists diagnose, assess and treat human communication disorders including speech, fluency, language, voice and swallowing disorders. Audiologists and speech-language pathologists are employed in hospitals, community and public health centres, extended care facilities, day clinics, rehabilitation centres and educational institutions, or may work in private practice.

Main Duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

Audiologists

Develop and administer audiometric tests and examinations using specialized instruments and electronic equipment to diagnose and evaluate the degree and type of patients' hearing impairment

Plan and implement habilitation/rehabilitation programs for patients, including selection, fitting and adjustment of amplification devices, such as hearing aids, balance retraining exercises, and teaching speech (lip) reading

Educate and counsel patients and families regarding the nature, extent, impact and implications of hearing loss and treatment

Establish personalized care plans working as a member of an interdisciplinary team

Conduct research related to hearing and hearing disorders

May instruct and supervise audiometric technicians, students and other health care personnel.

Speech-language pathologists

Administer tests and examinations and observe patients to diagnose and evaluate speech, voice, resonance, language, fluency, cognitive-linguistic and swallowing disorders

Develop, plan and implement remedial programs to correct speech, voice, language, fluency, resonance, cognitive-linguistic and swallowing disorders

Establish group and personalized care plans working as a member of an interdisciplinary team

Educate and counsel patients and families regarding communication and swallowing disorders

Conduct research on speech and other communication disorders and on the development and design of diagnostic procedures and devices

May instruct and supervise communicative disorders assistants, students and other health care personnel.

Also Known As

audiologist
certified audiologist
clinical audiologist
educational speech-language pathologist
research audiologist

speech therapist

speech-language clinician

Requirements

Employment Requirements

Audiologists require a master's degree in audiology.

Speech-language pathologists require a master's degree in speech-language pathology.

Registration with a regulatory body is required for audiologists and speech-language pathologists in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

Membership in the national association, Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists, is usually required.

In some jurisdictions, audiologists may be required to obtain a separate licence to dispense hearing aids.

Provincial Regulation

Provincially Regulated: Yes

Regulation Body

New Brunswick Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (NBASLPA)

Employment by Sex

The following graph shows the percentage of men and women working in this occupation in New Brunswick.

Data legend

89.7%

Female

10.3%

Male

Employment by age

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by age group.

Data legend

0.0%

15-24

32.8%

25-34

27.6%

35-44

27.6%

45-54

12.1%

55-64

0.0%

65+

Employment by highest level of education

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by highest level of education achieved.

Data legend

0.0%

No Certificate, Diploma or Degree

0.0%

High School, Diploma or Equivalent

0.0%

Apprenticeship or Trades Certificate or Diploma

0.0%

College or University Below Bachelor Level

100.0%

University - Bachelor Level or Above

Employment by Industry

The following graph shows the industry groups in which the largest shares of persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick are employed. Small percentages for all top three industry groups may suggest employment for this occupation is widely distributed amongst many industry groups.

Data legend

75.9%

Health care and social assistance

22.4%

Educational services

N/A

1.7%

All Other Industries

Employment by Economic Regions

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons employed in this occupation in New Brunswick by which economic region they reside in.

Data legend

19.30%

Northeast

31.60%

Southeast

24.60%

Southwest

15.80%

Central

8.80%

Northwest

Economic Regions

The following map displays New Brunswick’s five economic regions. An economic region (ER) is a grouping of counties, created as a standard unit for analysis of regional economic activity across Canada.

Annual Average Salary by Economic Regions

The following graph shows the average salary of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.

Data legend

$80,000

Northeast

$76,000

Southeast

$85,000

Southwest

$85,000

Central

$90,000

Northwest

Economic Regions

Hourly Median Wages by Economic Regions

The following represents the median hourly wage of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.

Salary

The following shows the average salary of everyone who worked full-time and year-round in this occupation across each of the Atlantic Provinces and nationally.

Employment Outlook

The following represents the number of job openings that are expected to occur in this occupation over the next three and ten years respectively, broken down by openings expected to result from growth (“new jobs”) and openings expected to result from attrition (death and retirements).

Occupational Profiles