(225 ILCS 50/4.6)

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)

Sec. 4.6. Prescription hearing aids for persons age 18 or older.

(a) A hearing instrument professional may dispense a hearing aid to a person age 18 or older in accordance with the requirements of this Section.

(b) A person age 18 or older must be evaluated by a hearing instrument professional in person or via telehealth before receiving a prescription for a hearing aid. A person age 18 or older may not waive evaluation by a hearing instrument professional unless he or she is replacing a lost or stolen hearing aid that is subject to warranty replacement.

(c) A hearing instrument professional shall not sell prescription hearing aid to anyone age 18 or older if the prospective user had a negative finding on the Consumer Ear Disease Risk Assessment or a similar standardized assessment. The prospective user who had a negative finding on the Consumer Ear Disease Risk Assessment or similar standardized assessment shall present to the hearing instrument professional a written statement, signed by a licensed physician, which states that the patient's hearing loss has been medically evaluated and the patient is considered a candidate for a prescription hearing aid. The medical evaluation must have been performed within the 12 months immediately preceding the date of the sale of the hearing aid to the prospective hearing aid user.

(d) A hearing aid prescription for individuals age 18 or older must include, at a minimum, the following information:

(1) name of the patient;

(2) date the prescription is issued;

(3) expiration date of the prescription, which may not exceed one year from the date of issuance;

(4) name and license number of the prescribing hearing instrument professional;

(5) results of the following assessments:

(A) hearing handicap inventory or similar standardized, evidence-based tool;

(B) pure-tone air conduction audiometry;

(C) bone conduction testing or consumer ear disease risk assessment or a similar standardized evidence-based tool;

(D) recorded speech in quiet, as medically appropriate;

(E) recorded speech or digits in noise, as medical appropriate;

(6) documentation of type and style of hearing aid; and

(7) documentation of medical necessity of the recommended features of a hearing aid.

(Source: P.A. 103-495, eff. 1-1-24.)