Bill > SB118

This bill amends the definition of "audiology" in Arkansas state law to provide a more comprehensive and detailed description of the professional scope of audiologists. The bill expands the definition to explicitly include evaluating, diagnosing, managing, and treating auditory and vestibular conditions in the human ear, as well as prescribing, ordering, selling, dispensing, and fitting hearing aids and sound processors for osseointegrated devices and cochlear implants. The bill also specifies additional permitted activities for audiologists, such as conducting health screenings, removing foreign bodies or earwax from the ear canal, ordering (but not interpreting) certain medical tests, and performing non-radiographic in-office testing related to hearing and balance disorders. Importantly, the bill clearly delineates what audiologists cannot do, which includes surgical procedures, radiographic imaging preparation and interpretation, and comprehensive medical diagnostics. The bill also introduces a new definition for "sound processor" as a nonsurgical, external unit that attaches to internal osseointegrated devices or cochlear implants. This legislation aims to provide greater clarity and specificity regarding the professional practice and limitations of audiologists in Arkansas.

Health and Social Services

https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?id=sb118&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R