Hearing Aid Specialists
Also called: Hearing Aid Specialist, Hearing Instrument Dispenser, Hearing Instrument Specialist (HIS), Hearing SpecialistSelect 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.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 1 of its 11 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 19.4% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 1.7% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous health technologists and technicians”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 9.1 hires for every 10 job openings in retail trade, which employs about 67% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.9.1 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $46,530 | $44,050 to $76,750 | 50 |
| Alaska | $75,300 | $63,320 to $78,830 | 30 |
| Arizona | $76,750 | $69,400 to $80,990 | 110 |
| California | $80,060 | $61,830 to $83,570 | 990 |
| Colorado | $77,540 | $63,470 to $82,270 | 140 |
| Connecticut | $74,520 | $62,820 to $79,110 | 110 |
| Delaware | $59,160 | $37,230 to $62,000 | not published |
| Florida | $67,010 | $62,600 to $79,720 | 1,150 |
| Georgia | $56,010 | $43,370 to $75,300 | 320 |
| Hawaii | $74,800 | $43,740 to $81,270 | 90 |
| Idaho | $75,300 | $46,580 to $80,000 | 160 |
| Illinois | $63,050 | $46,350 to $77,460 | 360 |
| Indiana | $60,900 | $43,690 to $80,160 | 310 |
| Iowa | $59,550 | $47,200 to $78,760 | 200 |
| Kansas | $46,820 | $36,230 to $64,370 | 100 |
| Kentucky | $75,200 | $44,770 to $82,370 | 100 |
| Louisiana | $64,580 | $49,990 to $130,760 | 80 |
| Maryland | $77,460 | $61,830 to $83,690 | 50 |
| Massachusetts | $75,310 | $66,700 to $80,010 | not published |
| Michigan | $55,100 | $40,460 to $80,060 | 460 |
| Minnesota | $61,390 | $35,110 to $73,200 | 530 |
| Missouri | $51,680 | $40,870 to $74,850 | 210 |
| Montana | $75,300 | $65,640 to $77,270 | 60 |
| Nebraska | $45,660 | $43,440 to $62,780 | 90 |
| Nevada | $81,800 | $62,680 to $83,570 | 60 |
| New Jersey | $75,720 | $49,620 to $82,640 | 470 |
| New Mexico | $74,510 | $52,000 to $79,960 | 40 |
| New York | $82,990 | $58,840 to $99,510 | 380 |
| North Carolina | $75,810 | $56,960 to $79,470 | 240 |
| Ohio | $62,680 | $58,070 to $75,300 | 260 |
| Oklahoma | $47,840 | $35,770 to $51,370 | 80 |
| Oregon | $66,350 | $62,230 to $78,830 | 170 |
| Pennsylvania | $58,080 | $40,990 to $76,050 | 870 |
| South Carolina | $47,190 | $36,310 to $63,880 | 220 |
| South Dakota | $54,910 | $50,730 to $61,830 | not published |
| Tennessee | $78,270 | $57,490 to $103,570 | 190 |
| Texas | $59,140 | $39,320 to $67,420 | 970 |
| Utah | $57,940 | $49,490 to $76,750 | 200 |
| Vermont | $57,850 | $57,840 to $71,990 | not published |
| Virginia | $75,300 | $43,880 to $82,800 | 210 |
| Washington | $77,510 | $64,510 to $88,990 | 280 |
| West Virginia | $35,110 | $33,590 to $84,620 | 50 |
| Wisconsin | $76,750 | $64,510 to $95,830 | 170 |
Nationally: $65,160. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 1 of its 11 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Train clients to use hearing aids or other augmentative communication devices. | Not published |
| Not much | Counsel patients and families on communication strategies and the effects of hearing loss. | Not published |
| Not much | Maintain or repair hearing aids or other communication devices. | Not published |
| Not much | Administer basic hearing tests including air conduction, bone conduction, or speech audiometry tests. | Not published |
| Not much | Perform basic screening procedures, such as pure tone screening, otoacoustic screening, immittance screening, and screening of ear canal status using otoscope. | Not published |
| Not much | Select and administer tests to evaluate hearing or related disabilities. | Not published |
See all 11 tasks
| Not much | Create or modify impressions for earmolds and hearing aid shells. | Not published |
| AI + software | Read current literature, talk with colleagues, and participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in audiology. | Not published |
| Not much | Demonstrate assistive listening devices (ALDs) to clients. | Not published |
| Not much | Diagnose and treat hearing or related disabilities under the direction of an audiologist. | Not published |
| Not much | Assist audiologists in performing aural procedures, such as real ear measurements, speech audiometry, auditory brainstem responses, electronystagmography, and cochlear implant mapping. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 11 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 11 tasks fall under 12 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administer diagnostic tests to assess patient health | |||
| Train others to use equipment or products | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Counsel others about personal matters | |||
| Advise patients or clients on medical issues | |||
| Treat injuries, illnesses, or diseases | |||
| Diagnose health conditions or disorders | |||
| Operate medical equipment |
Show all 12 activities
| Maintain medical equipment or instruments | |||
| Adjust medical equipment to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Assist healthcare practitioners during medical procedures | |||
| Fabricate medical devices |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for hearing aid specialists specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 3,904 moves out
- 1 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 6%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 3 Pharmacists High +5.2% 4%
- 4 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 4%
- 5 Office Clerks, General Very high -6.0% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 3,667 moves in
- 1 Cashiers High -6.5% 7%
- 2 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 6%
- 3 Office Clerks, General Very high -6.0% 6%
- 4 Veterinary Technologists and Technicians Moderate +9.4% 4%
- 5 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 22% high school
- 12% postsecondary certificate
- 9% associate's
- 12% post-bachelor's certificate
- 44% research doctorate
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 18 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 3% less than high school
- 19% high school
- 29% some college
- 18% associate's
- 21% bachelor's
- 7% master's
- 2% professional degree
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous health technologists and technicians” · 1,374 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous health technologists and technicians”
1 program: Hearing Instrument Specialist.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
>99.5% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | >99.5% | 19.1% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
| a certification | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (Hearing Aid Specialist). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Hearing Aid Specialists” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/29-2092.00