Washington 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

• Have passed a written and practical exam
• Completed a minimum of a two-year degree program in hearing instrument fitter/dispenser instruction; or
  Holds a current, unsuspended, unrevoked license from another jurisdiction if the standards for licensing in such other jurisdiction are substantially equivalent to those prevailing in this state; or Holds a current, unsuspended, unrevoked license from another jurisdiction, has been actively practicing as a licensed hearing aid fitter/dispenser in another jurisdiction for at least forty-eight of the last sixty months, and submits proof of completion of advance certification from either the international hearing society or the national board for certification in hearing instrument sciences
• Completed a minimum of four clock hours of AIDS education and training

Reciprocity

An applicant holding a credential in another state, territory, or the District of Columbia may be credentialed to practice in this state without examination if the board determines that the other state's credentialing standards are substantially equivalent to the standards in this state.

Continuing Education

Licensees must complete a minimum of thirty hours of continuing education every three years with at least one hour on infection control.

Audiologist Dispensing

Audiologists may dispense under an audiology license.

Board Composition

The Board of Hearing and Speech shall consist of eleven members to be appointed by the governor. Three members shall represent the public and shall have an interest in the rights of consumers of health services, and shall not be or have been a member of, or married to a member of, another licensing board, a licensee of a health occupation board, an employee of a health facility, nor derive his or her primary livelihood from the provision of health services at any level of responsibility. Two members shall be hearing instrument fitter/dispensers who are licensed under this chapter, have at least five years of experience in the practice of hearing instrument fitting and dispensing, and must be actively engaged in fitting and dispensing within two years of appointment. Two members of the board shall be audiologists licensed under this chapter who have at least five years of experience in the practice of audiology and must be actively engaged in practice within two years of appointment. Two members of the board shall be speech-language pathologists licensed under this chapter who have at least five years of experience in the practice of speech-language pathology and must be actively engaged in practice within two years of appointment. One advisory nonvoting member shall be a speech-language pathology assistant certified in Washington. One advisory nonvoting member shall be a medical physician licensed in the state of Washington.

Facilities, Procedures and Instrumentation

Minimum equipment in the fitting and dispensing of hearing instruments shall include:

• Access to a selection of hearing instrument models, and hearing instrument supplies and services sufficiently complete to accommodate the various user needs.
• Facilities for the personal comfort of customers.
• A test environment with background noise no greater than current American National Standards Institute specifications (S3.1-1960 (R-1971)) plus 15 dB. When nonstandard environments must be used, appropriate procedures shall be employed and documented.
• Pure tone audiometer shall conform to all current standards of the American National Standards Institute.
• Equipment appropriate for conducting speech audiometry (testing).

Trial Period

30 days from the date of delivery.

Mail Order

It is unlawful to fit or dispense a hearing instrument to a resident of this state if the attempted sale or purchase is offered or made by telephone or mail order and there is no face-to-face contact to test or otherwise determine the needs of the prospective purchaser.

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:

Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Instruments Law

Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Instruments Regulation

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