I would like to express my support of exempting audiologists from the Virginia HA Dispensing Examination.  Today's minimum requirements to become a licensed and certified audiologist are quite rigorous and typically include 8 years of post-secondary education, 4 of which are dedicated to earning a Doctorate of Audiology (Au.D.) degree.  The knowledge and experience affiliated with an audiologist's education make requiring an audiologist to take an additional HA dispensing examination redundant, outdated, fiscally irresponsible, and simply unnecessary. 

A single audiology license should be sufficent to provide all audiology services, including the fitting and dispensing of hearing aids, within the established scope of practice of the profession.  I appreciate the opportunity to show my support of this important proposed ammendment to current regulations.