Lately there has been a rash of articles in the news around fake or unlicensed hearing aid dealers. To be clear, the issue with this group is not that they are selling fake aids, it is that they are not licensed to sell the aids themselves. Probably the lesser of two evils but still simply not acceptable.
The best way to avoid dealing with an unlicensed hearing aid seller is to simply deal with your audiologist instead of a vendor. Not only does this insure that you are dealing with a licensed professional, you are now working with a doctor who cares for you long after the hearing aid is sold.
The licenses to become a hearing aid dispenser are dealt out on a state by state level. Looking at the application that California provides tells me that it is no walk in the park thus ripe for crooks to consider skipping.
In most states, including Oregon, licensed audiologists are no longer required to obtain a separate license to sell hearing aids. This makes sense.
So be careful who you are buying your hearing aid from. If you choose to use a vendor instead of an audiologist insist that you are shown their license and paperwork. Hearing aids are very expensive and you should only buy one from a legit vendor!
