Hearing aid dispenser (training, development and registration)
To practise as a hearing aid dispenser, you must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
To get onto the HCPC register, you must have successfully completed an HCPC approved course. These are offered at a number of levels, including foundation degree, MSc, certificate and Dip HE.
Training and development
Some universities incorporate the requirements needed for hearing aid dispensing as part of their BSc (Hons) Health Care Science Audiology.
No matter what level you are working at, as part of your development you will be expected to do continuing professional development (CPD) to show that you are keeping yourself up to date with the policies and procedures in your area of work.
Each of the professions regulated by the HCPC has at least one professional body to promote the profession, represent members and develop curriculum frameworks, post registration education and training and continuing professional development. These organisations are separate from the HCPC but their role is complementary.
The British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists (BSHAA) is the professional body for HAD. Find out more about the BSHAA
Accredited Scientific Practice- development opportunities for healthcare science staff
Accredited Scientific Practice (ASP) provides an additional route for your ongoing professional and scientific development as part of the healthcare science (HCS) workforce. ASP allows employers to develop bespoke, responsive, short course programmes to meet training needs within the HCS workforce. ASP programmes provide you with a quality assured, rigorously assessed qualification which can lead to voluntary professional registration with the Academy for Healthcare Sciences (AHCS).
An ASP programme involves work based learning with academic study of modules from the National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS) portfolio programmes. Access to an e-portfolio is provided to record learning in the workplace while associated academic study is completed independently through an accredited university provider. In some cases, completion of academic study may also lead to an award of a postgraduate qualification from the university provider.
To work as a hearing aid dispenser, you must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) which regulates the ‘act of dispensing hearing aids’ in the independent sector. This is a statutory regulation which means it is a criminal offence to assess hearing with a view to selling a hearing aid or to prescribing a hearing aid without registration with the HCPC as a hearing aid dispenser.
Like all clinical professions, there is a requirement to maintain your registration through regular revalidation. There is a 2-year cycle for hearing aid dispensers.
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