The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

ASHA—The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Act—The Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Licensure Act (63 P.S. § § 1701—1719).

Biennial renewal period—The period from August 1 of an even-numbered year to July 31 of the next even-numbered year.

Board—The State Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.

Business entity—A lawful form of organization, including a corporation, partnership, trust, association, company or other similar form of organization.

Clock hour—Consists of 50 to 60 minutes of instruction or participation in an approved continuing education course or program.

Continuing education record—Report provided to a participant in a continuing education course or program by the provider which conforms to § 45.506(b) (relating to provider responsibilities).

Direct supervision—The personal, on-premises observation of activities performed by personnel working under the licensee or qualified training supervisor.

Inactive license—A license status in which the licensee notifies the Board that the licensee no longer requires an active license to practice.

Jurisdiction—A state, territory or country.

Lapsed license—A license status in which the license has not been currently renewed.

Licensees—Speech-language pathologists and audiologists.

Neurophysiologic intraoperative monitoring—The process of continual testing and interpreting of results by the use of electrodiagnostic modalities to identify and monitor the functional integrity of neurological structures to reduce the risk of injury and complications related to the nervous system during a surgical procedure.

Practice of audiology—The application of principles, methods and procedures related to disorders of the auditory and vestibular systems including all of the following:

1. (i) Prevention of hearing loss by designing, implementing and coordinating industrial, school and community-based hearing conservation programs.
2. (ii) Identification of dysfunction of hearing, balance and other auditory-related systems by developing and overseeing hearing and balance-related screening programs for persons of all age, including newborn and school screening programs.
3. (iii) Administration of speech or language screening or other measures for the purpose of initial identification and referral of persons with other communicative disorders.

4. (iv) Assessment and nonmedical diagnosis and treatment of hearing and vestibular disorders through the administration of behavioral, psychoacoustic, electrophysiologic tests of the peripheral and central auditory and vestibular systems using standardized test procedures, including all of the following:

   1. (A) Audiometry.
   2. (B) Tympanometry.
   3. (C) Acoustic reflex measures.
   4. (D) Otoacoustic emissions.
   5. (E) Auditory evoked potentials.
   6. (F) Video and electronystagmography.
   7. (G) Tests of central auditory function using calibrated instrumentation leading to the diagnosis of auditory and vestibular dysfunction abnormality.
5. (v) Assessment of candidacy of persons with hearing loss for cochlear implants.
6. (vi) Nonmedical treatment for persons with impairment of auditory function utilizing amplification and other assistive devices.
7. (vii) Selection, fitting, evaluation and dispensing of hearing aids and other amplification systems.
8. (viii) Fitting and mapping of cochlear implant devices and audiologic rehabilitation to optimize device use.
9. (ix) Fitting of middle ear implantable hearing aids, fully implantable hearing aids and bone-anchored hearing aids.
10. (x) Conducting otoscopic examinations.
11. (xi) Nonmedical treatment of persons with tinnitus using techniques including biofeedback, masking, hearing aids, education and counseling.
12. (xii) Counseling on the psychosocial aspects of hearing loss and the use of amplification systems.
13. (xiii) Administration of electrophysiologic measures of neural function, including sensory and motor-evoked potentials, and preoperative and postoperative evaluation of neural function.
14. (xiv) Use of neurophysiologic intraoperative monitoring of the central nervous system, spinal cord and cranial nerve function by an audiologist holding certification from the Board under § 45.24 (relating to certification to utilize neurophysiologic intraoperative monitoring) and upon delegation from and under the overall direction of a physician.

15. (xv) Acts within the definition of ‘‘practice of audiology’’ in the following documents, provided there is not a conflict with the act or this chapter:

    1. (A) ASHA’s Scope of Practice in Audiology statement developed by the Coordinating Committee for ASHA Vice President for Professional Practices in Audiology and approved in 2016 by the Legislative Council.
    2. (B) The American Academy of Audiology’s Scope of Practice document developed in 1992, and updated in 1996 and 2004.

    3. (C) The Academy of Doctors of Audiology’s (ADA) Scope of Practice statement jointly crafted by the ADA and the Audiology Foundation of America (July 31, 2003).

       Practice of speech-language pathology—The application of principles, methods and procedures of prevention, screening, consultation, identification, assessment and evaluation, determination of disorders and service delivery model, nonmedical treatment and intervention, counseling, collaboration and referral services for persons with known or suspected language, cognitive and linguistic, social, speech (resonance and voice, fluency and sound production), feeding and swallowing, orofacial myofunctional disorders or communication disorders, including all of the following:

    4. (i) Screening individuals for hearing loss or middle ear pathology using conventional pure-tone air conduction methods, otoacoustic emissions screening and screening tympanometry.
    5. (ii) Providing intervention and support services for children and adults diagnosed with speech-language or auditory processing disorders.
    6. (iii) Using instrumentation to observe, collect data and measure parameters of communication and swallowing or other upper aerodigestive functions.
    7. (iv) Developing, selecting and implementing multimodal augmentative and alternative communication systems, including aided and unaided strategies.
    8. (v) Providing amplification services to children and adults with hearing loss.
    9. (vi) Selecting, fitting and establishing effective use of devices for communication and swallowing other than hearing amplification.
    10. (vii) Providing nonmedical treatment and instruction on modification or enhancement of communication performance.
    11. (viii) Evaluating the functionality of amplification devices.
    12. (ix) Providing auditory training involving individuals with hearing loss.
    13. (x) Teaching and implementing techniques to assure safety and efficiency in swallowing.

    14. (xi) Acts within the definition of ‘‘practice of speech-language pathology’’ developed by the ASHA’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology and approved by the ASHA Legislative Council in 2016, provided there is not a conflict with the act or this chapter.

        Provider—An agency, organization, institution, college, university, professional society, association or center approved by the Board to offer an organized continuing education course or program.

Authority

The provisions of this § 45.2 amended under sections 5, 7(d)(1), 8(a), 8.1, 10, 16 and 17 of the Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Licensure Act (63 P.S. § § 1705, 1707(d)(1), 1708(a), 1708.1, 1710, 1716 and 1717); section 810(a)(3) and (7) of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. § 279.1(a)(3) and (7)); and 63 Pa.C.S. § 3111.

Source

The provisions of this § 45.2 adopted July 20, 1990, effective July 21, 1990, 20 Pa.B. 3973; amended May 22, 1992, effective May 23, 1992, 22 Pa.B. 2730; amended May 29, 1992, effective May 30, 1992, 22 Pa.B. 2833; amended April 7, 2006, effective April 8, 2006, 36 Pa.B. 1648; amended July 14, 2017, effective July 15, 2017, 47 Pa.B. 3814; amended July 25, 2025, effective July 26, 2025, 55 Pa.B. 4974. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (387728) to (387731).