Action | Amendments to Board for Hearing Aid Specialists Regulations 2012 |
Stage | NOIRA |
Comment Period | Ended on 3/14/2012 |
Since the Board of HAS is considering changes, I would like to support the proposal that licensed audiologists should be exempt from taking an examination fo obtain a hearing aid specialist license. The professional education of audiologists has changed dramatically since the code was written, and now all graduate programs in the US are Doctoral level. The increased coursework and hands on experience that Audiologists now have to fit hearing aids and provide care for hearing aid patients is above and beyond what a non- audiologist needs to obtain a license. Currently, ENT physicians are exempt from taking an exam to obtain a licence without any coursework or practicum in hearing aid dispensing.
In my opinion, if any profession should be exempt from taking an examination, it should be licensed audiologists. A revised code should support this.