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•
Pain or discomfort in the ear;
•
Abnormal appearance of the eardrum and ear
canal such as:
- Inflammation of the external auditory canal;
- Perforated eardrum;
- Other abnormalities which the HCP
believes are of medical concern
Special care should be exercised in selecting
and fitting a hearing aid whose maximum sound
pressure level exceeds 132 decibels (dB) because
there may be risk of impairing the remaining
hearing of the hearing aid user. (This provision
is required only for those hearing aids with a
maximum sound pressure capability greater than
132 dB).
The hearing care professional may decide that a
referral is not appropriate or in the best interest
of the patient when the following applies:
•
When there is sufficient evidence that the
condition has been fully investigated by a
medical specialist and any possible treatment
has been provided;
•
The condition has not worsened or changed
significantly since the previous investigation
and / or treatment.
If the patient has given their informed and
competent decision not to accept advice to seek
a medical opinion, it is permissible to proceed
to recommend appropriate hearing aid systems
subject to the following considerations:
•
The recommendation will not have any
adverse effects on the patient’s health or
general well being;
•
The records confirm that all necessary
considerations about the patient’s best
interests have been made.
If legally required, the patient has signed a
disclaimer to confirm that the referral advice has
not been accepted and that it is an informed
decision.
The hearing aid is suitable for the home
healthcare environment and due to their
portability it may happen that it is used in
professional healthcare facility environment like
physician offices, dental offices etc.