Hearing Loss – My insurance covers this, right?

Posted by Alex on September 13, 2010 under Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss | Be the First to Comment

Understanding your hearing benefits is not easy.  Less than 1 out of every 5 Americans has insurance coverage for hearing aids*.  Consider for a second, that hearing loss is more common than the loss of vision.  Yet, only 14% of physicians in the US routinely screen patients for hearing.  In fact, hearing loss affects 1 out of every 10 persons in this county, 1 in 3 people over the age of 60 and one-half of individuals over the age of 85.

Often an insurance plan will pay for a person to have a hearing test, but even if hearing loss is diagnosed, treatment and hearing aids might be excluded from the contract.  This does not mean that you do not need help for your hearing.  It is a mistake to let benefits be the sole criteria to determine what you want to do with your hearing loss.  Without good hearing, it’s hard to understand and follow a doctor’s advice, drive safely and respond to warnings, hear doorbells, or even enjoy talking with friends and family.

Some insurance carriers claim hearing aids to be cosmetic and not a medical necessity.  We know from the National Council on Aging in 1999 this to be the contrary.  This landmark study documented the impact of untreated hearing loss on the quality of life.  The study further proved the negative social, psychological, cognitive and health effects of untreated hearing loss not only on the individual suffering from hearing loss, but also similar effects upon significant others**.

This study also demonstrated for the first time that individuals with even a mild hearing loss can experience dramatic improvements in their quality of life if treated with hearing aids. In other words, you need not wait until retirement to receive the benefits of enhanced hearing. If you are one of those people with a mild, moderate or severe hearing loss, who is sitting on the fence, consider all the benefits of hearing aids. Hearing aids hold such great potential to positively change so many lives. Despite these findings, Congress has been in no hurry to add the coverage to Medicare. It is, however, considering the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act. If signed into law, it would provide a $500 tax credit every five years for hearing aids purchased for someone under 18 or over 55.

Remember with your particular plan, it is important to know that each contract might vary.  HearUSA works with more insurance companies than any other national hearing healthcare organization to ensure that hearing aids are affordable and accessible for everyone with hearing loss.  Many people don’t even realize there is some type of coverage.  Whether your plan provides a benefit or a discount for hearing aids, any type of financial assistance is good, every bit helps.  HearUSA is also the exclusive hearing healthcare provider for most Medicare Advantage plans and the network provider for AARP members.

* Dispenser Survey 2006, Hearing Review

** The Impact of Treated Hearing Loss on Quality of Life, Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D. – Better Hearing Institute, Washington, DC