He attended Waseca, Minn. public schools, graduating in 1947 and then earned a bachelor's degree in speech from Grinnell College in 1951. He continued his education at Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, earning a master of arts degree in speech and hearing disorders in 1952. After serving in the U.S. Air Force for two years, he was employed as a clinical audiologist for Veterans Administration in Atlanta, Ga. Subsequently, he attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. and was awarded a Ph.D. in audiology in 1959.
