(225 ILCS 50/3) (from Ch. 111, par. 7403)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
    Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act, except as the context requires otherwise:
    "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
    "Director" means the Director of the Department of Public Health.
    "Direct supervision" means the final approval given by the licensed hearing instrument professional to all work performed by the person under supervision and that the licensed hearing instrument professional is physically present in the facility any time the person under supervision has contact with a client. "Direct supervision" does not mean that the licensed hearing instrument professional is in the same room when the person under supervision has contact with the client.
    "Federal Trade Commission" means the United States federal agency which regulates business practices and commerce.
    "Food and Drug Administration" means the United States federal agency which regulates hearing instruments or hearing aids as medical devices.
    "License" means a license issued by the State under this Act to a hearing instrument dispenser.
    "Licensed audiologist" means a person licensed as an audiologist under the Illinois Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Practice Act and who can prescribe hearing aids in accordance with this Act.
    "National Board Certified Hearing Instrument Specialist" means a person who has had at least 2 years in practice as a licensed hearing instrument dispenser and has been certified after qualification by examination by the National Board for Certification in Hearing Instruments Sciences.
    "Licensed physician" or "physician" means a physician licensed in Illinois to practice medicine in all of its branches pursuant to the Medical Practice Act of 1987.
    "Trainee" means a person who is licensed to perform the functions of a hearing instrument dispenser or audiologist in accordance with the Department rules and only under the direct supervision of a hearing instrument dispenser or audiologist who is licensed in the State.
    "Board" means the Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Board.
    "Hearing instrument" or "hearing aid" means any instrument or device, including an instrument or device dispensed pursuant to a prescription, that is designed, intended, or offered for the purpose of improving a person's hearing and any parts, attachments, or accessories, including earmolds. "Hearing instrument" or "hearing aid" does not include batteries, cords, and individual or group auditory training devices and any instrument or device used by a public utility in providing telephone or other communication services.
    "Involvement of a licensed hearing professional" refers to the supervision, prescription or other order, involvement, or interaction by a licensed hearing instrument professional.
    "Practice of prescribing, fitting, dispensing, or servicing of prescription hearing aids" means the measurement of human hearing with an audiometer, calibrated to the current American National Standard Institute standards, for the purpose of prescribing hearing aids and making selections, recommendations, adaptions, services, or sales of hearing aids including the making of earmolds as a part of the hearing aid.
    "Sell" or "sale" means any transfer of title or of the right to use by lease, bailment, or any other contract, excluding wholesale transactions with distributors or dealers.
    "Hearing instrument dispenser" means a person who is a hearing instrument professional that engages in the selling, practice of fitting, selecting, recommending, dispensing, prescribing, or servicing of prescription hearing aids or the testing for means of hearing aid selection or who advertises or displays a sign or represents himself or herself as a person who practices the testing, fitting, selecting, servicing, dispensing, prescribing, or selling of prescription hearing aids.
    "Fund" means the Hearing Instrument Dispenser Examining and Disciplinary Fund.
    "Hearing instrument professional" means a person who is a licensed audiologist, a licensed hearing instrument dispenser, or a licensed physician.
    "Over-the-counter hearing aid" means any instrument or device that:
        (1) uses the same fundamental scientific technology
    
as air conduction hearing aids, as defined in 21 CFR 874.3300, or wireless air conduction hearing aids, as defined in 21 CFR 874.3305;
        (2) is intended to be used by adults age 18 and older
    
to compensate for perceived mild to moderate hearing impairment;
        (3) through tools, tests, or software, allows the
    
user to control the over-the-counter hearing aid and customize it to the user's hearing needs;
        (4) may use wireless technology or include tests for
    
self-assessment of hearing loss; and
        (5) is available over-the-counter, without the
    
supervision, prescription, or other order, involvement, or intervention of a licensed person, to consumers through in-person transactions, by mail, or online.
    "Over-the-counter hearing aid" does not include batteries, cords, and individual or group auditory training devices or any instrument or device used by a public utility in providing telephone or other communication services.
    "Personal sound amplification product" means an amplification device, as defined by the Food and Drug Administration or the Federal Trade Commission, that is not labeled as a hearing aid and is not intended to treat hearing loss.
    "Prescribe" means an order for a prescription hearing aid issued by a licensed hearing instrument professional.
    "Prescription hearing aid" means any wearable instrument or device designed, intended, or offered for the purpose of improving a person's hearing that may only be obtained with the involvement of a licensed hearing instrument professional.
(Source: P.A. 103-495, eff. 1-1-24; 103-576, eff. 12-8-23.)