A new analysis published in Seminars in Hearing raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of the U.S. audiology workforce, finding that the profession has grown substantially more slowly than comparable healthcare disciplines despite an expanding population of people with hearing loss. The study, authored by Victor Bray, PhD, and Amyn M....
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Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
No actionable change for individual clinical practice today, but clinic owners and program directors should treat the documented workforce gap as a signal to invest in recruitment, retention strategies, and training pipeline advocacy.
A documented workforce growth lag of roughly 5–6× below comparable healthcare professions signals a looming supply-demand crisis in audiology that has implications for patient access, clinic staffing, and the profession's long-term viability.
- 01U.S. audiology workforce grew only ~16.9% from 1999/2000 to 2023/2024, vs. 83.9–107.9% for comparable health professions.
- 02Study published in Seminars in Hearing, a peer-reviewed audiology journal.
- 03Analysis spans ~25 years of workforce data, covering growth, retention, and projected demand.
- 04Slow growth relative to peers raises concern about future capacity to meet hearing healthcare demand.
- 05Findings have direct implications for workforce policy, AuD program enrollment, and clinic hiring.
U.S. audiology workforce grew approximately 16.9% between 1999/2000 and 2023/2024.
studysupportedAudiology has grown significantly slower than comparable healthcare disciplines including optometry, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology.
studysupportedFuture demand for audiology services will outpace current workforce growth trajectories.
studypartially supported- Journal
- Seminars in Hearing
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- U.S. audiology workforce across approximately 25 years (1999/2000–2023/2024)
- Intervention
- Longitudinal analysis of audiology workforce counts, retention rates, and demand projections
- Comparator
- Comparable healthcare professions: optometry, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology
Primary outcomes
Percentage change in audiology workforce size over the study period; Retention rates within the audiology profession; Projected future demand for audiological services relative to workforce supply
