A new analysis of U.S. healthcare wages suggests that audiologists continue to earn substantially less than many other doctoral-level healthcare professionals, despite the profession’s transition to doctoral-level entry requirements nearly two decades ago.
Published October 6, 2026, in Seminars in Hearing, the study by Victor Bray, PhD, and Amyn M. Amlani, PhD examined 25 years of federal wage data to evaluate how audiology compensation has changed over time and how it compares with other healthcare occupations.
The researchers found that audiology’s average annual wage was $92,477 between 2022 and 2024, compared with an average of $142,013 across the doctoral and professional-degree healthcare occupations examined.
The findings raise questions about whether audiology’s educational advancement has translated into comparable economic recognition within the healthcare system.
Audiologist Wage Growth Slowed Following Transition to Doctoral Education
Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the researchers examined audiology wage trends from 1999 through 2024, comparing the period when master’s-level preparation predominated with the years following the profession’s transition to doctoral-level entry.
During the master’s-dominant period from 1999 to 2006, average audiologist wages increased at an estimated rate of $2,080 annually. From 2007 through 2024, the corresponding annual increase was approximately $1,764.
Although wages continued to rise, the analysis found no acceleration in wage growth following the transition to doctoral-level preparation.
The researchers also observed that audiology and speech-language pathology maintained remarkably similar wage trajectories throughout the 25-year period, despite their different educational requirements.
Across the study period, the average annual wage difference between the professions was just $256 in audiology’s favor, with the advantage frequently shifting between the two occupations.
These findings suggest that the transition to doctoral-level education has not produced a sustained wage premium for audiologists relative to speech-language pathologists.
The authors emphasize that their analysis describes historical associations rather than establishing that the AuD transition caused slower wage growth.
Audiology Compensation Compared With Other Healthcare Professions
To place audiology earnings in a broader context, the researchers compared average annual wages across 34 healthcare occupations, grouped according to their minimum educational requirements.
The analysis used three-year average wages from 2022 through 2024.
| Healthcare occupation group | Average annual wage |
|---|---|
| Associate’s degree | $80,153 |
| Bachelor’s degree | $80,216 |
| Master’s degree | $114,623 |
| Doctoral/professional degree | $142,013 |
| Audiologists | $92,477 |
| All U.S. occupations | $65,097 |
Although audiologists earned approximately 42% more than the average across all U.S. occupations, their compensation fell below the average for both master’s-level and doctoral-level healthcare professions.
Audiology wages exceeded those of only two of the nine master’s-degree occupations and one of the nine doctoral/professional-degree occupations included in the comparison.
The researchers describe this pattern as credential-wage decoupling, in which a profession’s educational requirements increase without a corresponding improvement in its relative wage position.
For audiology, the findings suggest that doctoral-level preparation has not, by itself, been sufficient to substantially change how the profession is economically valued.
Reimbursement and Practice Models May Limit Earnings
The researchers identify several structural characteristics of audiology that may help explain its relatively modest wage growth.
Among these is the profession’s reimbursement structure, which continues to emphasize diagnostic services and restricts opportunities for independent service valuation under certain healthcare payment arrangements.
The authors also point to the historical relationship between professional revenue and hearing aid sales. When revenue depends heavily on device transactions, compensation may not fully reflect the time, expertise, and clinical complexity involved in providing hearing healthcare.
Other potential contributors include employment-based compensation arrangements that limit opportunities for income growth and differences in scope of practice across states and payers.
Together, these factors may constrain audiologists’ ability to translate advanced training and clinical specialization into higher earnings.
However, the researchers caution that the study does not establish which structural factors are responsible for the observed wage patterns. Instead, these issues provide context for understanding the profession’s economic position.
Implications for Audiology Workforce Sustainability
The findings add an important economic dimension to growing concerns about the future of the audiology workforce.
Recent research examining audiology workforce supply and demand has raised concerns about whether the profession can train and retain enough clinicians to meet future hearing healthcare needs.
The new wage analysis suggests that workforce sustainability depends on more than the number of students entering audiology programs or the availability of clinical positions.
Educational costs, student debt, earning potential, and opportunities for professional advancement may also influence whether individuals choose audiology careers and remain in the profession.
The authors argue that when compensation does not adequately reflect educational investment and clinical responsibility, professions may face challenges with recruitment, retention, and long-term workforce stability.
These concerns are particularly relevant as demand for hearing healthcare is expected to increase with population aging.
Looking Beyond Educational Requirements
The study highlights a central challenge facing audiology: expanding educational requirements does not necessarily produce corresponding changes in compensation or professional standing.
Bray and Amlani conclude that improving the profession’s long-term economic position may require greater alignment between clinical responsibilities, reimbursement authority, service valuation, and healthcare delivery models.
Rather than viewing wages solely as an individual compensation issue, the researchers suggest that earnings trends provide an important indicator of the profession’s broader sustainability.
The findings underscore the importance of considering both workforce supply and the economic conditions that influence audiologists’ decisions to enter, remain in, and advance within the profession.
Study Reference: Bray V, Amlani AM. Economics of Audiology Wages: Benchmarking a Doctoral Health Profession Within U.S. Healthcare. Seminars in Hearing. 2026;47:95–101. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0046-1825788
