Title 54.1. Professions and Occupations
Chapter 15. Hearing Aid Specialists and Opticians
Article 2. Hearing Aids and Hearing Aid Specialists.
§ 54.1-1501. Exemptions; sale of hearing aids by corporations, etc., measuring hearing.A. Physicians licensed to practice in Virginia and certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology or eligible for such certification shall not be required to pass an examination as a prerequisite to obtaining a license under this chapter.
B. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a corporation, partnership, trust, association, or other like organization maintaining an established business address from engaging in the business of selling or offering for sale prescription hearing aids at retail without a license, provided that it employs only licensed practitioners in the direct sale and fitting of prescription hearing aids.
C. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit any person who does not sell hearing aids or accessories or who is not employed by an organization which sells hearing aids or accessories from engaging in the practice of measuring human hearing for the purpose of selection of hearing aids.
D. Audiologists licensed to practice in Virginia who have earned a doctoral degree in audiology shall not be required to pass an examination as a prerequisite to obtaining a license under this chapter.
1970, c. 571, §§ 54-524.111, 54-524.112; 1974, c. 534; 1986, c. 279; 1988, c. 765; 1996, c. 741; 2018, c. 458; 2023, cc. 273, 274.
§ 54.1-1502. Repealed.Repealed by Acts 2012, cc. 803 and 835, cl. 35.
§ 54.1-1504. License required.No person shall engage in the practice of fitting or dealing in prescription hearing aids or display a sign or in any other way advertise or represent himself as a person who practices the fitting or dealing of prescription hearing aids unless he holds a license as provided in this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as requiring a licensee to engage in the business of selling over-the-counter hearing aids.
1970, c. 571, § 54-524.111; 1974, c. 534; 1986, c. 279; 1988, c. 765; 2005, c. 599; 2023, cc. 273, 274.
§ 54.1-1505. Return of prescription hearing aid by purchaser or lessee.A. Within 30 days of the date of delivery, any purchaser or lessee of a prescription hearing aid shall be entitled to return such hearing aid for any reason, provided that such hearing aid is returned in satisfactory condition. Such purchaser or lessee shall be entitled to a replacement or a refund of all charges paid, less a reasonable charge for medical, audiological, and hearing aid evaluation services provided by the hearing aid specialist.
B. The right of a purchaser or lessee to return a prescription hearing aid and the charges to be imposed upon the return of such hearing aid, as provided in subsection A of this section, shall be explained and given in writing in at least 10-point, bold-faced type to such purchaser or lessee by the hearing aid specialist.
C. The provisions of this section shall be subject to the provisions of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (§ 59.1-196 et seq.).
