                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEFINITIONS (§ 54.1-1500)

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
		&#8220;Audiologist&#8221; means the same as that term is defined in §
54.1-2600.
		&#8220;Board&#8221; means the Board for Hearing Aid Specialists and Opticians.
		&#8220;Hearing aid&#8221; means any wearable instrument or device designed or
offered to aid or compensate for impaired human hearing and any parts,
attachments, or accessories, including earmolds, but excluding batteries and
cords.
		&#8220;Licensed hearing aid specialist&#8221; means any person who is the
holder of a hearing aid specialist license issued by the Board for Hearing Aid
Specialists and Opticians.
		&#8220;Licensed optician&#8221; means any person who is the holder of an
optician license issued by the Board for Hearing Aid Specialists and Opticians.
		&#8220;Licensed optometrist&#8221; means any person authorized by Virginia law
to practice optometry.
		&#8220;Licensed physician&#8221; means any person licensed by the Board of
Medicine to practice medicine and surgery.
		&#8220;Optician&#8221; means any person not exempted by § 54.1-1506 who
prepares or dispenses eyeglasses, spectacles, lenses, or related appurtenances,
for the intended wearers or users, on prescriptions from licensed physicians or
licensed optometrists, or as duplications or reproductions of previously
prepared eyeglasses, spectacles, lenses, or related appurtenances; or who, in
accordance with such prescriptions, duplications or reproductions, measures,
adapts, fits, and adjusts eyeglasses, spectacles, lenses, or appurtenances, to
the human face.
		&#8220;Over-the-counter hearing aid&#8221; means an air-conduction hearing aid
that does not require implantation or other surgical intervention and is
intended for use by a person age 18 or older to compensate for perceived mild to
moderate hearing impairment.
		&#8220;Practice of audiology&#8221; means the same as that term is defined in
§ 54.1-2600.
		&#8220;Practice of fitting or dealing in hearing aids&#8221; means (i) the
measurement of human hearing by means of an audiometer or by any other means
solely for the purpose of making selections, adaptations, or sale of hearing
aids, (ii) the sale of prescription hearing aids, or (iii) the making of
impressions for earmolds for prescription hearing aids. A practitioner, at the
request of a physician or a member of a related profession, may make audiograms
for the professional&#8217;s use in consultation with the hard-of-hearing.
		&#8220;Prescription hearing aid&#8221; means a hearing aid that is not an
over-the-counter hearing aid.
		&#8220;Sell&#8221; or &#8220;sale&#8221; means any transfer of title or of the
right to use by lease, bailment, or any other contract, excluding wholesale
transactions with distributors or practitioners.
		&#8220;Temporary permit&#8221; means a permit issued while an applicant is in
training to become a licensed hearing aid specialist.

HISTORY: 1970, c. 571, § 54-524.110; 1988, c. 765; 2005, c. 599; 2012, cc. 803,
835; 2018, c. 458; 2023, cc. 273, 274.