Will audiologists be replaced by AI?
Updated
Audiologists score 40 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 64%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 17% outright, and 19% stays with people.
- 17% AI can do it
- 64% AI helps
- 19% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Higher than 53% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 22 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 14 and leaves 4 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain patient records at all stages, including initial and subsequent evaluation and treatment activities. AI scribes can draft and organize clinical records. | 72% AI can do it |
| Perform administrative tasks, such as managing office functions and finances. Scheduling, billing and records admin is highly automatable. | 70% AI can do it |
| Engage in marketing activities, such as developing marketing plans, to promote business for private practices. AI can write marketing plans, copy, and social posts quickly. | 68% AI can do it |
| Provide information to the public on hearing or balance topics. AI can draft patient handouts and public hearing health content. | 62% AI can do it |
| Conduct or direct research on hearing or balance topics and report findings to help in the development of procedures, technology, or treatments. AI speeds literature review and drafting, but design needs experts. | 55% AI helps |
| Refer patients to additional medical or educational services, if needed. AI drafts referral letters; clinician picks the right service. | 45% AI helps |
| Advise educators or other medical staff on hearing or balance topics. AI can draft education materials for staff and teachers. | 45% AI helps |
| Monitor patients' progress and provide ongoing observation of hearing or balance status. AI can track outcomes and flag changes for clinician review. | 40% AI helps |
| Recommend assistive devices according to patients' needs or nature of impairments. AI can compare options; clinician weighs needs and recommends. | 40% AI helps |
| Plan and conduct treatment programs for patients' hearing or balance problems, consulting with educators, physicians, nurses, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, and other health care personnel, as necessary. AI can draft treatment plans; team coordination remains human. | 40% AI helps |
Show the other 12 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Develop and supervise hearing screening programs. AI helps design screening protocols; supervision stays human. | 40% AI helps |
| Instruct patients, parents, teachers, or employers in communication strategies to maximize effective receptive communication. AI can draft materials, but live coaching needs the clinician. | 35% AI helps |
| Evaluate hearing and balance disorders to determine diagnoses and courses of treatment. Diagnosis needs clinical judgment and direct patient examination. | 30% AI helps |
| Counsel and instruct patients and their families in techniques to improve hearing and communication related to hearing loss. Counseling depends on empathy and live conversation with families. | 30% AI helps |
| Participate in conferences or training to update or share knowledge of new hearing or balance disorder treatment methods or technologies. AI can summarize conference content, but attending is in person. | 25% AI helps |
| Educate and supervise audiology students and health care personnel. Teaching and supervising students relies on live mentorship. | 25% AI helps |
| Work with multidisciplinary teams to assess and rehabilitate recipients of implanted hearing devices through auditory training and counseling. Rehabilitation counseling is live, relational work with teams. | 25% AI helps |
| Measure noise levels in workplaces and conduct hearing conservation programs in industry, military, schools, and communities. Field noise measurement is physical; program planning is AI assisted. | 25% AI helps |
| Administer hearing tests and examine patients to collect information on type and degree of impairment, using specialized instruments and electronic equipment. Testing and ear exams require in person patient contact. | 20% Needs a person |
| Fit, dispense, and repair assistive devices, such as hearing aids. Fitting and repairing devices requires physical handling and custom work. | 15% Needs a person |
| Program and monitor cochlear implants to fit the needs of patients. Mapping needs live patient responses and device hardware adjustments. | 15% Needs a person |
| Examine and clean patients' ear canals. Physical procedure on a live patient with tools. | 4% Needs a person |
How audiologists compare
All occupations (923)
Healthcare practitioners and technical (89)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $95,780 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 13,660 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +11.0% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Fit and verify hearing aids with real-ear measurement
- Program cochlear implant maps in manufacturer fitting software
- Maintain state audiology licence and ASHA CCC-A credential
- Review AI-drafted clinical notes in Epic Systems
- Check HCPCS coding on claims in practice management software
- Analyze hearing research data in Microsoft Excel
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about audiologists and AI
Will AI replace audiologists?
Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly maintaining patient records and running office administration. Testing ears, fitting hearing aids and programming cochlear implants stay with audiologists because they need a person in the room with the patient.
Which audiology tasks is AI taking over?
Record keeping scores 72 on exposure, since AI scribes can draft and organize clinical notes. Office administration scores 70 because scheduling, billing and records work follow set rules. Marketing plans and patient handouts score 68 and 62, since AI writes copy and health content quickly.
Which audiology tasks stay human?
Ear canal cleaning scores 4 on exposure, since it is a physical procedure on a live patient using tools. Fitting hearing aids and programming cochlear implants score 15, because the mapping depends on live patient responses and hands-on device adjustments. Hearing tests score 20 and need in person contact.
How can audiologists stay valuable?
Draft referral letters and handouts with AI, then check clinical accuracy before anything goes out. Move the saved hours into hearing aid fitting, cochlear implant mapping and in person hearing tests. Keep your state licence and CCC-A current, and analyze study data in Excel before reporting findings in PowerPoint.
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Next steps for audiologists
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