14
DISPENSER INFORMATION & CHILDREN WITH HEARING LOSS
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 prospec-
tive 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 those hearing aids with a maximum sound pressure capability greater than 132 decibels (dB).)
Children with Hearing Loss
In addition to seeing a physician for a medical evaluation, a child with a hearing loss should be directed to an audiolo-
gist for evaluation and rehabilitation since hearing loss may cause problems in language development and the edu-
cational and social growth of a child. An audiologist is qualified by training and experience to assist in the evaluation
and rehabilitation of a child with a hearing loss.
