Forensic Audiology Essay

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Forensic audiology involves applying the knowledge on hearing science and audiology to legal issues. It is not considered as a sub-specialty in audiology, rather, it’s an application of expertise in acoustic, psychoacoustic and noise to work within the legal system. It covers a board spectrum of cases such as occupation or environmental noise, audibility, speech understanding, the effects of noise, pediatrics, central auditory processing and cochlear implants. Forensic audiology is often associated with working with an attorney, especially for cases that involve workers compensation, administrative law and constitutional law.
The audiologist’s responsibility in a forensic audiology case could involve acting as an expert witness in court to give professional opinion on their field of expertise. Audiologist could be called in during the discovery phase of a lawsuit to perform an independent medical exam pertaining to hearing loss, vestibular issues, or other areas within scope of practice to give professional opinion regarding the diagnosis, possible cause, extend of the injury, best course of treatment, and the patient’s maximum medical recovery. During the pretrial phase, attorneys submit trial briefs to inform the judge of the facts that will be proven, the audiologist’s expert report based on review of the records and complains would also be included. At times, this report could provide enough evidence for a judge to issue a summary judgement to exclude certain party from the lawsuit. Cases that may involve the …show more content…

The legal system is not requiring the testifying professional to be 100% certain, but the criterion is “a preponderance of evidence that is more likely than not. All reports should state that the opinion given is based on “a reasonable degree of audiological

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