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Please note that these devices are not designed to restore your
normal hearing and will not prevent or improve a hearing impairment
resulting from organic conditions such as disease, wax blockage, or
any physiological conditions you may have.
Warning to hearing care professionals
Hearing care professionals 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 care
professional determines through inquiry, actual observation, or review
or 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), 1000 Hz and 2000 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.
CAUTION - Important notice for prospective
hearing aid users
Good health practice requires that a person with a hearing loss have
a medical evaluation by a licensed physician (preferably a physician
who specializes in diseases of the ear) before purchasing a hearing
aid. Licensed physicians who specialize in diseases of the ear are often
referred to as otolaryngologists, otologists, or otorhinolaryngologists.
The purpose of medical evaluation is to assure that all medically
treatable conditions that may affect hearing are identified and treated
before the hearing aid is purchased.
Following the medical evaluation, the physician will give you a written
statement that states that your hearing loss has been medically
evaluated and that you may be considered a candidate for a hearing
aid. The physician will refer you to an audiologist or a hearing care
professional, as appropriate, for a hearing aid evaluation.
The audiologist or hearing care professional will conduct a hearing aid
evaluation to assess your degree of hearing. The hearing aid evaluation
will enable the audiologist or dispenser to select and fit a hearing aid
to your individual needs.
