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Clinical Duties

Rehabilitation duties

• Take social histories and listening needs assessments in children and adults, and combine these with diagnostic test results to develop the necessary management plans
• Take accurate aural impressions of children and adults
• Modify ear moulds using the range of laboratory equipment available
• Following national and departmental guidelines and protocols, but with an understanding of when these can not be adhered to:
  • Select appropriate hearing aids and prescription formulae based on the needs assessment and diagnostic test results
  • Accurately fit digital hearing aids to adults and school age children, using real ear/probe microphone measurements, and assist senior staff in fitting pre-school children
  • Follow-up to enable fine tuning of digital hearing aids and onward referral to other specialist services
• Provide counselling to patients and/or significant others regarding the nature and extent of any hearing deficit, and the options on how this could be managed
• Manage distressed or angry patients sensitively, especially when disclosing test results and management options
• Provide audiological management to patients with significant co-morbidities, including mental health problems and learning difficulties
• Ensure patients and/or significant others are fully aware of the use of any devices issued
• Fault finding to provide a timely hearing aid repair service
• Manage complex cases, including taking referrals from junior staff
• Provide expert advice to other staff, including wards, health visitors and ENT

Diagnostic duties

• To determine the appropriate test battery for patients seen as direct referrals from primary care and as referrals from ENT
• Analyse results to determine the next stage of diagnostics required, and to problem solve inconsistent or erroneous findings
• Take medical histories of patients directly referred from primary care to exclude pathologies requiring a medical opinion
• Following national and departmental guidelines and protocols, but with an understanding of when these can not be adhered to:
  • Accurately test hearing using of infants, children and adults with learning difficulties, using appropriate techniques for the individual’s age and level of ability
  • Accurately test the hearing of adults all ages, using pure tone audiometry, uncomfortable loudness levels, speech audiometry and other subjective tests as required
  • Accurately perform objective tests of auditory function on children and adults, including tympanometry, acoustic reflex testing and otoacoustic emissions
• Ensure that expensive clinical equipment used is calibrated, decontaminated and maintained according to national and departmental protocols

Other duties

• Provide the range of audiological services in peripheral/community settings and domiciliary settings
• Provide training and supervision to pre-registration and basic grade audiology staff
• Provide training to other staff groups, including medical students, nursing staff and community-based health professionals
• Maintain accurate and comprehensive clinical records using the computerised patient management system and hospital records
• Provide written and verbal reports on patients to referrers and other members of the multi-disciplinary team
• Assist the team leader in the maintenance and calibration of the service’s equipment
• Assist in keeping accurate activity statistics
• Prioritise own workload
• Take responsibility for own continual professional development
• Participate in continuous service improvement to enhance the quality, safety and efficiency of patient care
• Assist in stock and equipment management, including the carrying of equipment and stock to peripheral/ community clinics and for domiciliary services
• Ensure efficient use of resources
• Participate in departmental research and audit, and multi-centre trials
• Actively participate in departmental team meetings and training