Minnesota Licensing Requirements for Hearing Aid Dispensers
The profession of hearing aid dispenser is regulated at the state level and each state maintains its own standards for licensure or registration.
Initial Licensure Requirements
- be 21 years of age or older
- have passed a written and practical exam
Reciprocity
A person who has dispensed hearing instruments in another jurisdiction may dispense hearing instruments as a trainee under indirect supervision if the person: satisfies the provisions of hearing aid dispenser; submits a signed and dated affidavit stating that the applicant is not the subject of a disciplinary action or past disciplinary action in this or another jurisdiction and provides a copy of a current credential as a hearing instrument dispenser held in the District of Columbia or a state or territory of the United States.
Temporary Licensure
A person who is not certified may dispense hearing instruments as a trainee for a period not to exceed 12 months if the person:
- submits an application;
- is under the supervision of a certified dispenser;
- meets all requirements for certification except passage of the examination;
- uses the title "dispenser trainee" in contacts with the patients, clients, or consumers.
Continuing Education
Each certified dispenser must submit with the application for renewal of certification evidence of completion of ten course hours of continuing education earned within the 12 month period of November 1 to October 31, between the effective and expiration dates of certification. Continuing education courses must be directly related to hearing instrument dispensing and approved by the International Hearing Society, ASHA, or the American Academy of Audiology.
Audiologist Dispensing
- All audiologists are exempt from taking the written Hearing Instrument Dealers examination.
- All applicants for audiology licensure must achieve a passing score on the practical Hearing Instrument Dealers examination.
Board Composition
The Hearing Instrument Dispenser Advisory Council consists of seven persons including:
- Three public members—at least one of the public members shall be a hearing instrument user and one of the public members shall be either a hearing instrument user or an advocate of one;
- Three hearing instrument dispensers, each of whom is currently, and has been for the five years immediately preceding their appointment, engaged in hearing instrument dispensing in Minnesota and who represent the occupation of hearing instrument dispensing and who are not audiologists; and
- One audiologist licensed as an audiologist who dispenses hearing instruments, recommended by a professional association representing audiologists and speech-language pathologists.
- No two members of the advisory council shall be employees of, or have binding contracts requiring sales exclusively for, the same hearing instrument manufacturer or the same employer.
Trial Period
45 days from the date of delivery
Mail Order/Internet Sales
Mail order dispensing and Internet sales are not addressed in the law/regulations.
Resources
The information contained herein was collected and summarized annually. For detailed information on hearing aid dispenser requirements, contact the state board and visit these websited:
Hearing Aid Dispensing Laws
Hearing Aid Dispensing Regulations
Questions regarding state advocacy issues? Call ASHA at 800-498-2071 and ask for the State Advocacy Team.