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. Amlani, PhD, examines workforce trends spanning more than two decades, comparing audiologists with other advanced-degree healthcare professionals. The researchers conclude that audiology’s limited growth cannot be explained simply by an insufficient number of graduates. Instead, their findings suggest that elevated workforce departures may be a major factor preventing the profession from expanding.
The analysis also highlights a widening gap between the projected demand for hearing healthcare and the number of audiologists available to provide those services.
Audiology Growth Falls Behind Comparable Professions
Using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Bray and Amlani compared audiology’s workforce growth with 16 other master’s- and doctoral-level healthcare professions.
Between 2012 and 2024, audiology recorded an average annual workforce growth rate of just 1.77%, ranking third lowest among the 17 professions examined.
The disparity becomes particularly apparent when comparing audiology with four related healthcare disciplines: occupational therapy, physical therapy, optometry, and speech-language pathology.
Across approximately 25 years, audiology’s workforce increased by 16.9%, compared with an average increase of approximately 95% among those four professions.
The findings extend concerns raised in earlier workforce analyses, including a 2023 discussion between Bray and Dave Kemp about audiology’s slow growth and the profession’s unfinished transition toward greater clinical autonomy.
That discussion examined the original goals of the Doctor of Audiology movement, including expanded professional recognition, greater independence, and a stronger position within the healthcare system. The new study suggests that workforce capacity remains an important challenge in realizing those objectives.
Is Audiology Losing Too Many Professionals?
One of the study’s central findings concerns the relationship between educational output and workforce retention.
Bray and Amlani examined the number of graduates entering audiology relative to the profession’s existing workforce. They found that audiology’s graduate production was broadly comparable to several other healthcare professions, suggesting that limited educational output alone does not explain its slow expansion.
Comparing audiology with speech-language pathology between 2010 and 2024, the researchers calculated an average annual workforce entry rate of 5.2% for audiology, compared with 5.9% for speech-language pathology.
However, the estimated annual workforce departure rates differed considerably: 4.3% for audiology versus 2.8% for speech-language pathology.
As a result, audiology’s average net workforce growth was approximately 0.9%, compared with 3.1% for speech-language pathology.
The authors interpret this difference as evidence that audiology may be experiencing unusually high rates of professional departure, potentially including individuals leaving the field before retirement.
Importantly, the analysis does not directly measure why individual audiologists leave the profession. The departure estimates are derived from aggregate graduation and employment data, and include retirement, death, and other exits. More detailed research would be necessary to identify the specific causes and determine how many departures represent career changes.
Nevertheless, the findings suggest that increasing enrollment in AuD programs may have limited impact unless the profession also addresses factors influencing career longevity and retention.
Hearing Aid Specialists Expanding More Rapidly
The study also examines the growth of hearing aid specialists, whose workforce increased by more than 200% between 2012 and 2024.
According to the researchers, hearing aid specialists have increasingly filled roles associated with hearing testing and hearing aid dispensing as audiology’s workforce has expanded more slowly.
Based on historical growth trends, the authors project that hearing aid specialists could outnumber audiologists around 2036 if current trajectories continue.
This projection raises questions about how hearing healthcare responsibilities may be distributed among providers in the coming decade.
While hearing aid specialists play an important role in expanding access to amplification services, the researchers emphasize that audiologists possess broader clinical training encompassing auditory and vestibular disorders, diagnostic assessment, and rehabilitation.
The findings therefore raise a larger question about how audiology can more fully utilize its doctoral-level education while maintaining an adequate workforce to meet growing demand.
Hearing Loss Prevalence Expected to Nearly Double
The workforce challenges become more significant when considered alongside projected demographic changes.
Using population estimates and hearing loss prevalence data, Bray and Amlani project that the number of Americans aged 10 and older with hearing impairment in one or both ears could increase from approximately 47 million in 2000 to more than 102 million by 2060.
Their model estimates that the number of individuals with hearing impairment per audiologist could rise from approximately 4,100 in 2000 to nearly 5,600 by 2030.
These figures represent potential demand rather than the number of patients actively seeking audiological care. The projections also depend on assumptions about future population trends and workforce growth.
Nevertheless, they illustrate the potential challenges of meeting increasing hearing healthcare needs without substantial changes in workforce capacity or service delivery.
Implications for Audiology’s Future
The authors acknowledge limitations in available workforce data, including differences between federal employment estimates, professional registries, and other sources. They also caution that their analysis cannot definitively establish why audiologists leave the profession.
Still, the findings suggest that workforce sustainability will require more than simply producing additional graduates.
Bray and Amlani identify several areas warranting attention, including improved professional retention, better integration of audiologists into healthcare systems, and reimbursement and regulatory policies that more closely reflect their clinical training and scope of practice.
Their analysis also raises broader questions about how audiology can balance the increasing demand for hearing aid services with its responsibilities in diagnosing and managing complex auditory and vestibular conditions.
Ultimately, the study suggests that strengthening audiology’s workforce will depend not only on attracting new professionals, but also on creating conditions that encourage them to remain in practice and fully utilize their clinical expertise.
Reference
Bray V, Amlani AM. Audiology Workforce Supply and Population Demand: Trends, Benchmarks, and Implications. Seminars in Hearing. 2026;47:84–94. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0046-1825792.
