Tennessee 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 at least eighteen (18) years of age
• Have an education equivalent to two (2) years of accredited college level coursework
• Passed a written and practical exam.

Reciprocity

Licensed Hearing Instrument Specialist by reciprocity:

• Eighteen (18) years of age or older; and
• Education equivalent to two (2) years of accredited college level course work; and
• Holds a current, unrevoked or unsuspended, license from another state or country.
  • Out-of-state license issuance was based on passing the IHS examination or NBC/HIS Exam.
    • Examination must have been proctored by a state licensing board member or designee in the state in which the applicant holds a current license.
    • A minimum score of seventy-five percent (75%) must have been achieved on each section of the written examination; or
  • Applicant holds a current certification by the National Board for Certification-Hearing Instruments Specialist (NBC-HIS).
  • An applicant must pass a written examination pertaining to Tennessee law relative to Hearing Instrument Specialists and also must pass a practical examination given by the Council.

Continuing Education

• Each licensee registered with the Council is required to successfully complete twenty (20) hours of continuing education during the two (2) calendar years (January 1 - December 31) that precede the licensure renewal year.
• Two (2) hours of the twenty (20) hour requirement shall pertain to Tennessee statutes and rules concerning hearing instrument specialists.

Audiologist Dispensing

Audiologists may dispense under an audiology license.

Board Composition

The Council for Licensing Hearing Instrument Specialists shall consist of five (5) members who shall possess the following qualifications:

• Three (3) members shall be qualified hearing instrument specialists and fitters of hearing instruments who have been duly licensed as such in Tennessee, and who are certified by the National Board for Certification — Hearing Instrument Sciences. Such members may be appointed by the governor from a list of qualified nominees submitted by the Tennessee Hearing Aid Society;
• One (1) member shall be a physician who has been duly licensed to practice medicine in Tennessee and who has received certification from the American Council of Otolaryngology. Such member may be appointed by the governor from a list of nominees submitted by the Tennessee Medical Association; and
• One (1) member shall be a person who has been a user of hearing instruments for a period of at least five (5) years preceding that person's appointment to the council and who shall never have been engaged in the practice of hearing instrument dispensing and fitting, audiology or medicine. Such member shall be appointed by the governor.

Facilities, Procedures and Instrumentation

The following tests are required:

• Puretone Audiometry
  • Thresholds shall be determined for each ear with air and bone conducted puretone stimuli. Air conduction stimuli must include 0.5, 1, 2, and 4K Hertz. Bone conduction stimuli must include .05, 1, 2, and 4K Hertz. On a client whose bone conduction threshold has been previously charted and that chart is a part of the client's permanent record, the licensee, at his discretion, may omit any new bone conduction testing, if there has been no appreciable change in the air conduction thresholds.
  • Appropriate masking must be used with air and bone conducted stimuli whenever necessary to obtain valid results.
• Discrimination Tests. There shall be a measurement of the client's speech discrimination ability at each ear using widely recognized test material prior to fitting. Appropriate masking must be used with speech stimuli whenever necessary to obtain valid results.
• Post-Fitting Tests. There shall be a measurement of the client's hearing ability using widely recognized test material while the client is wearing the selected hearing aid(s) adjusted for the selection gain, M.P. output, and frequency response.
• Tests for Tolerance. There shall be a measurement of the client's tolerance for amplified auditory stimuli using speech, puretones, or a complex signal representative of the speech spectrum (0.5, 1 and 2K Hz) or a method deemed acceptable by the Council.

Each licensee registered with the Council is required to retain calibration of equipment certificates for each audiometer used at his/her place of business during the calendar year.

Trial Period

30 days from date of delivery.

Mail Order

Mail order dispensing is 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 websites:

Hearing Instrument Specialists Law

Hearing Instrument Specialist Regulations [PDF]

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