I've been a hearing instrument specialist for 3 years and I'm sitting for the HAC exam in 5 weeks. My practical fitting and programming skills are solid but the audiology science sections are where I'm weakest. Anatomy of the auditory system, acoustic physics, and psychoacoustics in particular. I'm scoring around 65-70% on practice questions right now and need to be reliably above 80% to feel confident going in.
My current routine is about 1 hour each weekday morning and 2 hours on Saturdays. I'm going through the IHS study guide as my base and using supplemental flashcards I made for technical terminology. The hearing aid dispensing regulations section is fine since I deal with that daily. The science background is what I need to grind.
A few specific things I'm struggling with: how different audiogram configurations map to specific hearing aid prescription formulas, and the details around real ear measurement procedures. Does the exam go deep on those or is it more conceptual? I've seen conflicting advice on how much technical depth is expected.
The pass rate I've seen quoted is around 72% for first-time takers so it's not automatic but it's not out of reach either. Any advice from people who've taken it recently would help.
Audiogram interpretation questions are definitely on there and they do expect you to connect configuration to recommendation. Ski-slope vs flat loss vs reverse slope — know what those look like and what product characteristics matter for each.
IHS guide covers this but some people find the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists materials supplement it well for the science sections.
65-70% with 5 weeks to go is fine if you're consistent. I was at 68% at 4 weeks out and passed with a 79%. The IHS guide really is the right source — don't stray too far outside it.
The acoustic physics stuff is genuinely abstract if you haven't had formal coursework in it. YouTube has some good audiology fundamentals videos that helped me visualize concepts like impedance and resonance better than reading alone did.
The real ear measurement questions I saw were more conceptual than procedural — understanding what REM is for and how insertion gain relates to target curves, rather than step-by-step procedure details. Know the principles and you'll handle those questions fine.
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