On January 21 the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President published in the Federal Register its final decisions for revising the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) for 2010. The SOC is designed to reflect the occupational structure of the United States, classifying all occupations in which work is performed for pay or profit. All federal agencies that publish occupational data for statistical purposes are required to use the SOC. State and local government agencies are strongly encouraged to use this national system to promote a common language for categorizing and analyzing occupations.
IHS played a pivotal role in this accomplishment! Although fewer than a dozen changes were made to health professions, in response to the Society's comments and subsequent submissions to and discussions with the Office of Management and Budget and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2010 SOC separately identifies Hearing Aid Specialists as a distinct detailed occupation under Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Occupations. This means that Hearing Aid Specialists are a distinct detailed occupation with a unique identifier: 29-2092.
From a historical context you will recall that, after years of advocacy by IHS, the 2000 SOC included Hearing Aid Specialists as an illustrative example in a residual grouping under the subcategory of Health Technologists and Technicians. Prior to 2000, Hearing Aid Specialists were not included in the SOC; instead hearing aid consultants and hearing aid fitters were categorized under sales workers and hearing aid technicians were categorized under miscellaneous mechanics and repairers.
The achievement of a detailed occupation for Hearing Aid Specialists within Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Occupations is further recognition of both the vital role of the traditional dispenser in the healthcare delivery system and the critical importance of the Society's advocacy efforts.
For additional information, click on the links below to view copies of IHS’s comment letter and the Federal Register notice—or contact our Government Affairs Manager Susan Stewart at 734.522.7200, ext. 231.
