The medical field is full of abbreviations that signal the credentials and education of your provider. But while that’s intended to be helpful, it can be confusing if you don’t know what they mean.
Riley in Normal wants to know, “Hearing professionals often use abbreviations like Au.D., H.I.S., and CCC-A. What do all those designations mean, and are the differences important?” Au.D. stands for a Doctor of Audiology. They have a 4-year undergraduate degree, and 3-4 years of graduate school, and extensive training to evaluate and diagnose hearing AND balance issues. Au.D.’s are qualified to see newborns, to do screenings, and test children. H.I.S. or Hearing Instrument Specialist, or H.I.D. or Hearing Instrument Dispenser, is certified to dispense hearing aids, has to have an Associate’s degree and pass a state exam. The CCC-A is the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology, and it just means that you have completed coursework at an accredited university, you’ve passed a standardized exam, and you’ve had supervised clinical experience. When choosing a hearing care professional, it’s important to know which of those you’re seeing. So if you want the most well-rounded evaluation of any kind of hearing or balance disorder, an Au.D. is gonna be your best option. I’m Dr. Arica Rock from Bloomington-Normal Audiology, and we’re ‘hear’ for you.