The Hearing Aid Academy LLC, Atlanta, Tex, has been approved by the Texas Workforce Commission and licensed #S3248 as the first vocational school for training professional hearing aid specialists.

The Academy will provide fast-track, Web-based access to skills needed to become a qualified dispenser of hearing aids and to operate a business in the health field. The training is drawn from decades of successful operations and is packaged for entrepreneurs and those seeking new career paths, associated professionals, and couples seeking to establish a high-income family business. 

The student support program will provide the essential skills, guide the student through the state licensing requirements, and help in selecting an appropriate business location. It also provides a professional marketing plan to grow the business.

Training is provided for essential professional skills: conducting hearing examinations, fitting techniques, and providing dispensing services and customer support. The Academy prepares students take the national competency examination. 

The trend by state licensing boards in the field has commonly restricted the dispensing of hearing aids to only graduate audiologists with 6 to 8 years of specialized training, or a 2-year college degree and long apprenticeships thought necessary because of the lack of vocational opportunity. Students can successfully complete this program in 7 weeks.