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Board advances administrative manual and hears committee proposals on dome removal, trainee supervision and audiology assistant Sunrise process
Summary
The board adopted a revised Administrative Procedure Manual and heard committee recommendations to keep dome‑removal instruction limited to ENTs and to refine supervision language for trainees and branch locations.
The board voted to adopt a revised Administrative Procedure Manual and discussed practice‑level regulatory work coming from standing committees.
Administrative procedure manual: The board approved the revised Administrative Procedure Manual after staff revisions to chapter 7 (enforcement/discipline flow) and a few non‑substantive edits. Doctor Charles Sanders moved the motion and the board approved the manual by roll call (all voting members present recorded “Aye”).
Hearing aid dispensing committee: Member Todd Borges summarized the committee’s discussion about dome removal and supervision rules. The committee reviewed proposed language on dome‑removal requirements and debated whether to broaden which physicians may teach dome removal beyond otolaryngologists (ENTs). Borges said the “consensus of the other members of the committee was that the other doctors don't have the expertise or the experience to be able to teach the dispenser how to remove the dough from the ear and therefore, the decision was to keep it as it is.” The committee also asked staff to clarify the meaning of “maintain” in rules that govern when a trainee may work unsupervised at a primary or branch location.
Audiology Practice Committee: Doctor Amy White reported the committee considered whether the board should “Sunrise” a new audiology‑assistant license (a formal review to authorize statutory/licensure change). With documents and research provided, the committee concluded the board should not initiate a Sunrise review and recommended professional associations pursue legislative action if they wish to create a new license category. The committee also received public comment about dual licensure for audiologists and ongoing questions about written and practical exam requirements; staff said those items will be considered for future committee or board agendas.
Regulatory packages: Staff updated the board on several rulemaking efforts. Advertising regulations for hearing aid dispensers recently became effective (filed 12/30/2024, effective 04/01/2025). The board also completed a rulemaking to repeal obsolete processing‑time regulations and adopted staff responses to one public comment as part of the final package. Other regulatory packages — including trainee supervision requirements for hearing aid dispensers, audiology clinical hour requirements, and fingerprinting proposals — remain at various stages of drafting or departmental review.
Why it matters: Committee recommendations and regulatory changes affect who may perform certain technical tasks (dome removal), the standards for supervision of trainees, and the board’s ability to regulate new license categories. Adoption of the administrative manual clarifies enforcement flow and public transparency about board processes.
Votes and formal actions at a glance: - Approve 02/21/2025 board meeting minutes: moved by Doctor Amy White; roll‑call vote recorded unanimous “Aye.” - Adopt Administrative Procedure Manual (as amended): moved by Doctor Charles Sanders; roll‑call vote recorded unanimous “Aye.” - Adopt responses and continue rulemaking to repeal processing‑time regulations: motion made and approved by roll‑call vote.
Ending: Staff will produce clean regulatory language for committee proposals (dome removal, supervision) and return the administrative manual and regulatory packages for final steps as required.
