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Warning to Hearing Aid Dispensers
A hearing aid dispenser should advise a prospective
hearing aid user to consult promptly with a licensed
physician (preferably an ear specialist) before
dispensing a hearing aid if the hearing aid dispenser
determines through inquiry, actual observation, or
review of any other available information concerning
the prospective user, that the prospective user has
any of the following conditions:
(i) Visible congenital or traumatic deformity of the
ear.
(ii) History of active drainage from the ear within
the previous 90 days.
(iii) History of sudden or rapidly progressive hearing
loss within the previous 90 days.
(iv) Acute or chronic dizziness.
(v) Unilateral hearing loss of sudden or recent onset
within the previous 90 days.
(vi) Audiometric air-bone gap equal to or greater
than 15 decibels at 500 hertz (Hz), 1,000 Hz, and
2,000 Hz.
(vii) Visible evidence of significant cerumen
accumulation or a foreign body in the ear canal.
(viii) Pain or discomfort in the ear.
Special care should be exercised in selecting and
fitting a hearing aid whose maximum sound pressure
level exceeds 132 decibels because there may
be risk of impairing the remaining hearing of the
hearing aid user. (This provision is required only for
