Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Hearing Aid Specialists
Occupation · SOC 29-2092.00
Select and fit hearing aids for customers. Administer and interpret tests of hearing. Assess hearing instrument efficacy. Take ear impressions and prepare, design, and modify ear molds.
Also called: Hearing Aid Specialist · Hearing Instrument Dispenser · Hearing Instrument Specialist (HIS) · Hearing Specialist · Audioprosthologist · Hearing Aid Consultant · Hearing Care Practitioner · Hearing Care Specialist · Licensed Hearing Instrument Specialist (Licensed HIS) · National Board Certified Hearing Instrument Specialist (National Board Certified HIS) · Audiology Assistant · Audiology Technician
Job family: Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-29-2092-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- Growing fast employment outlook (+18.4% by 2034)
- 1,000 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $61,560/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
41st-percentile task overlap — yet about 1,000 openings a year (+18.4% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate | 61st | 0.6 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate | 38th | 0.4 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 29th | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.2), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.4). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Diagnose and treat hearing or related disabilities under the direction of an audiologist. | 0.2% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | Growing fast · +18.4% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 1,000 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 10,700 → 12,600 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Hearing Aid Specialists sits at the 27th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure rose from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
18% mean task exposure (2025)
27th percentile of 427 placed occupations
+2 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Medical and Dental Prosthetic Technicians · 3214 | 18% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 11 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Train clients to use hearing aids or other augmentative communication devices. Core · importance 4.8
- Counsel patients and families on communication strategies and the effects of hearing loss. Core · importance 4.8
- Select and administer tests to evaluate hearing or related disabilities. Core · importance 4.8
- Administer basic hearing tests including air conduction, bone conduction, or speech audiometry tests. Core · importance 4.7
- Maintain or repair hearing aids or other communication devices. Core · importance 4.7
- Perform basic screening procedures, such as pure tone screening, otoacoustic screening, immittance screening, and screening of ear canal status using otoscope. Core · importance 4.7
- Create or modify impressions for earmolds and hearing aid shells. Core · importance 4.5
- Assist audiologists in performing aural procedures, such as real ear measurements, speech audiometry, auditory brainstem responses, electronystagmography, and cochlear implant mapping. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Diagnose and treat hearing or related disabilities under the direction of an audiologist. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Read current literature, talk with colleagues, and participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in audiology. Core · importance 4.0
- Demonstrate assistive listening devices (ALDs) to clients. Core · importance 3.7
Work activities
- Test patient hearing.
- Instruct patients in the use of assistive equipment.
- Fabricate medical devices.
- Adjust prostheses or other assistive devices.
- Repair medical facility equipment.
- Diagnose medical conditions.
- Treat chronic diseases or disorders.
- Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
- Assist healthcare practitioners during examinations or treatments.
- Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
- Advise patients on effects of health conditions or treatments.
- Counsel family members of clients or patients.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Oral Expression | 4.0 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.9 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.8 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.6 | |
| Written Comprehension | 3.5 | |
| Near Vision | 3.5 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.4 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.3 | |
| Written Expression | 3.1 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.1 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.1 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.1 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.1 |
Essential skills
| Active Listening | 3.9 | |
| Speaking | 3.4 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.3 | |
| Writing | 3.1 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.1 | |
| Active Learning | 3.1 | |
| Monitoring | 3.1 |
Transferable skills
| Service Orientation | 3.6 | |
| Instructing | 3.5 | |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.3 | |
| Persuasion | 3.1 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.1 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.1 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
| Example | Category | |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Excel | Spreadsheet software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Office software | Office suite software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Outlook | Electronic mail software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft PowerPoint | Presentation software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Word | Word processing software | Hot technology |
| HIMSA Noah | Medical software | |
| Otometrics OTOsuite | Medical software |
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
- Typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
- Preparation level
- SVP (6.0 to < 7.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Health Professions and Related Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| Doctoral Degree | 44.0% | |
| High School Diploma | 22.1% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 12.0% | |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 11.9% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 9.2% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 0.4% | |
| Master's Degree | 0.4% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Work styles
| Dependability | 7.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 6.0 | |
| Integrity | 5.0 | |
| Cooperation | 4.0 | |
| Social Orientation | 3.0 |
Interest areas
| Health Care Service | 6.0 | |
| Personal Service | 4.6 | |
| Social Service | 4.4 | |
| Professional Advising | 4.1 | |
| Teaching/Education | 3.9 | |
| Medical Science | 3.3 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 3.0 |
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Social | 4.5 | |
| Conventional | 4.4 | |
| Investigative | 4.4 | |
| Realistic | 3.9 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $36,950 |
| 25th percentile | $47,150 |
| Median (50th) | $61,560 |
| 75th percentile | $78,110 |
| 90th percentile | $91,000 |
| People employed | 10,580 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Trade · Sector | 6,810 | $63,110 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 3,360 | $58,430 |
| Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists · National industry | 2,120 | $62,040 |
| Manufacturing · Sector | 70 | $60,290 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 40 | $44,900 |
| Offices of Optometrists · National industry | — | $66,320 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists · National industry | 64.83× | 2,120 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 6.36× | 6,810 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 2.12× | 3,360 |
Related occupations
Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.
- Ophthalmic Medical Technicians · 29-2057.00 Compare →
- Orthotists and Prosthetists · 29-2091.00 Compare →
- Neurodiagnostic Technologists · 29-2099.01 Compare →
- Dental Assistants · 31-9091.00 Compare →
- Endoscopy Technicians · 31-9099.02 Compare →
- Occupational Therapy Aides · 31-2012.00 Compare →
- Medical Assistants · 31-9092.00 Compare →
- Ophthalmic Medical Technologists · 29-2099.05 Compare →
- Physical Therapist Aides · 31-2022.00 Compare →
- Speech-Language Pathology Assistants · 31-9099.01 Compare →
- Audiologists · 29-1181.00 Compare →
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians · 29-1229.04 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Hearing Aid Specialists — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- High school diploma or equivalent · typical entry level
- Job zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Health Professions and Related Programs · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 27th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Hearing Aid Specialists show 41st-percentile AI task overlap — and about 1,000 annual U.S. openings
- Hearing Aid Specialists rank in the 41st percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 1,000 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be growing fast (+18.4%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $61,560, across about 10,580 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Hearing Aid Specialists show 41st-percentile AI task overlap — and about 1,000 annual U.S. openings • Hearing Aid Specialists rank in the 41st percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 1,000 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be growing fast (+18.4%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $61,560, across about 10,580 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Hearing Aid Specialists". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2092-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Hearing Aid Specialists." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2092-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Hearing Aid Specialists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2092-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-29-2092-00,
title = {Hearing Aid Specialists},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2092-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.