New York Hearing Aid Dispensing Requirements

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
• Be of good moral character
• Received a high school diploma or its equivalent
• Have had two years college accredited coursework or its equivalent
• Have fully completed the required training program
• Have passed a written and practical exam
• Have not had a registration, license or other authorization to dispense hearing aids suspended or revoked
• Have demonstrated the successful completion of post-secondary coursework approved by the secretary in conjunction with the advisory board

Reciprocity

The secretary may grant a certificate of registration upon submission of an application and appropriate fees where such application contains satisfactory proof that the applicant holds a valid hearing aid dispenser's license or registration in another state, where the secretary has determined such state has requirements equivalent to or higher than those in this state.

Continuing Education

Each hearing aid dispenser shall submit documentation showing successful completion of 20 continuing education credits.

Audiologist Dispensing

Audiologists who sell hearing aids must be registered with the Department of State as hearing aid dispensers, in addition to being licensed by the State Education Department as audiologists.

Board Composition

The hearing aid dispensing advisory board shall consist of 13 members to be appointed by the secretary: four of whom shall be non-audiologist hearing aid dispensers who shall have been engaged in the business of dispensing hearing aids primarily in this state for at least five years immediately preceding their appointment, two to be appointed upon the recommendation of the governor, one to be appointed upon the recommendation of the temporary president of the senate and one to be appointed upon the recommendation of the speaker of the assembly; four members shall be audiologists who are engaged in the dispensing of hearing aids for at least five years immediately preceding their appointment, two to be appointed upon the recommendation of the governor, one to be appointed upon the recommendation of the temporary president of the senate and one to be appointed upon the recommendation of the speaker of the assembly; two shall be otolaryngologists; and the remaining three members, none of whom shall derive nor have derived in the past economic benefit from the business of dispensing hearing aids, shall be from the resident lay public of this state who are knowledgeable about issues related to hearing loss. At least one lay member shall be an individual representing adults over the age of 50. At least one of the lay members shall be a hearing aid user. Of the otolaryngologists and lay members, one shall be appointed by the secretary on the recommendation of the minority leader of the senate and one shall be appointed by the secretary on the recommendation of the minority leader of the assembly and three shall be appointed by the secretary on the recommendation of the governor.

Facilities, Procedures and Instrumentation

Environmental Standards for Testing

• Office: Audiometric testing shall take place in a test environment meeting the criteria for background noise in accordance with prevailing hearing related industry standards.
• Residential: When a customer is home-bound and not able physically or psychologically to receive services in an office setting or it is geo-graphically inconvenient to do so, the dispenser must arrive at the customer's residence with the proper calibrated equipment and a sound level meter to measure ambient noise in the room and be able to perform the test where the ambient sound is not so loud as to interfere with the testing. If the prevailing hearing related industry standards cannot be met, such fact must be noted on the audiogram.
• Other Non-Office Setting: In such settings as a nursing home, the dispenser must have the proper equipment and the ambient sound in the site of testing must be such that it does not interfere with the testing. If the prevailing hearing related industry standards cannot be met, such fact must be noted on the audiogram.

Appropriate Testing Procedures Shall Include

• Determination of pure-tone thresholds for each ear, in accordance with prevailing hearing related industry standards, including:
  • Pure tone air conduction thresholds for each ear;
  • Masked pure-tone air conduction thresholds if there is a difference of 40dB or more between the air conduction thresholds of the two ears or the air conduction threshold of the poorer ear and the bone conduction threshold of the better ear;
  • Pure-tone bone conduction thresholds for each ear; and
  • Masked pure-tone bone conduction thresholds if there is a difference of 15dB or greater between the bone conduction threshold of the better ear and the air conduction threshold of the poorer ear.
• Determination of speech audiometry for each ear including:
  • The Speech Recognition Threshold (SRT) for each ear (or, if undeterminable, the Speech Awareness Threshold) utilizing appropriate spondaic word lists or other acceptable methods;
  • The Most Comfortable Loudness (MCL) for speech for each ear;
  • The Threshold of Discomfort (TD) or Uncomfortable Level (UCL) for speech for each ear; and
  • Speech Recognition scores for each ear and/or binaurally (as appropriate) utilizing appropriate phonetically balanced word lists or other acceptable methods.

Trial Period

Within 45 days of date of delivery.

Mail Order

No registered hearing aid dispenser, manufacturer, organization or distributor shall sell or rent a hearing aid to a resident of this state through direct mail order sales.

Resources

The information contained herein was collected and summarized annually. For detailed information on hearing aid dispenser requirements, contact the state board and visit this website:

Registration of Hearing Aid Dispensers [PDF]

Questions regarding this document? Call ASHA at 800-498-2071 and ask for the State Advocacy Team.