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program. Many hearing aid dispensers now offer programs that permit
you to wear a hearing aid for a period of time for a nominal fee after
which you may decide if you want to purchase the hearing aid.
Federal law restricts the sale of hearing aids to those individuals who
have obtained a medical evaluation from a licensed physician. Federal
law permits a fully informed adult to sign a waiver statement declining
the medical evaluation for religious or personal beliefs that preclude
consultation with a physician. The exercise of such a waiver is not in your
best health interest and its use is strongly discouraged.
If you elect to exercise your waiver option, you should know that hearing
instruments cannot restore normal hearing and will not prevent or
improve a hearing impairment resulting from organic conditions. Your
success with amplification depends on your hearing loss and individual
experiences. In most cases, infrequent use of a hearing instrument will not
allow you to obtain full benefit from it. Furthermore, the use of a hearing
instrument is only part of hearing rehabilitation and may need to be
supplemented by auditory training and instruction in lip reading.
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
