Examination

• In your job you will spend a great deal of time examining patients. It may seem like you would only see patients that had substantial hearing loss, but that is not always the case. In fact, any auditory problems or balance problems could land a person in your office. Many patients also suffer from sensory issues that you must deal with. Your goal is to examine all persons who come into your office to determine whether they need your services.
  
  

Assessment

• Once you have established that a person does need the services you provide, you must then begin the assessment period. You will use audiometers, computers and other testing equipment to help determine the extent of the hearing loss or balance problem. Another necessary part of this process is determining what impact these issues could have on the person's daily life -- for some, it's minimal, but for others it's a significant impact.
  
  

Interpretation and Diagnosis

• After conducting a thorough patient evaluation, you must interpret the results that you get. You have likely done extensive testing on the patient and it is now your job to review the results of each test you have given. The purpose behind this is so that you can decide exactly what problem your patient is facing and the degree of severity. With this information you will make a formal diagnosis of the issue.
  
  

Treatment Plan

• Now you have to work with the patient to set up a treatment plan for the problem. Treatment can occur in a myriad ways. You may only need to examine and clean the ear canals. The patient may need hearing aids or even implants. As a part of your job, you must determine if patients also need counseling or education regarding the problem and how to use their new devices.