Common Hearing Aid Questions

Tue, 10/21/2014 - 7:45am

By Gary Friedman, MS, FAAA, audiologist, and member of the American Academy of Audiology

If you use hearing aids, you may find yourself having to decide about having them fixed or replaced at some point. If you have health insurance that excludes hearing aid benefits, you might wonder why? This month, I respond to two excellent questions on these topics which are posed to me quite often:

Q: I have a pair of hearing aids that I have been wearing for nearly three years, but they stopped working and are no longer under warranty. I suppose they are in need of repair or replacement. What factors should I consider in order to make a smart decision?

A: First, there are some simple checks that can be done that might bring your hearing aids back to life, such as replacing wax filters or checking to see if your batteries are defective. If you cannot remedy the situation yourself, then you will likely be consulting your hearing aid provider. Most every hearing aid can be repaired either in the office or by a third party, usually the manufacturer. Nowadays, most hearing aids can be repaired "in-office." Fifty percent of hearing aids sold in the U.S. last year were "receiver-in-the-ear" style. When this kind of hearing aid is not working, it is my experience that a simple in-office procedure, such as speaker replacement, can be performed, as opposed to sending the hearing aid away for factory repair.

If the hearing aid requires a factory repair, the cost can vary. Factory repair of a hearing aid should cost between $200-$400 or higher if the instrument is physically damaged and needs a new casing. Since new hearing aids are not generally covered by health insurance, buying a new set instead of repairing the set you have might be a financial strain you would prefer not to have. I recommend repairing your existing hearing aids if you have been getting good results rather than sending them in for a factory repair or complete replacement.

Q: I rely on my hearing aids to be able to understand conversation in most every situation. I don't understand why my health insurance (Medicare) doesn't cover hearing aids.

A: I have been fielding this question for the entire 35 years I have worked in my profession. As a provider of hearing healthcare, I do not understand why a country as advanced as ours does not consider hearing aids part of as necessary healthcare for all citizens. Imagine having a child with significant hearing loss and find out that your health insurance doesn't cover the several thousand dollars needed to acquire hearing aids? Without those hearing aids, how would your child be able to learn in school? Obviously not at all! Fortunately, in Maine, all children who need hearing aids are eligible for financial coverage, but this is not true in every state in our country. It's the same for several million adults who are in an "out-of-pocket" situation with Medicare. Most insurance companies follow Medicare's lead for what is covered and what is not covered. I'm afraid that unless Medicare changes its policies on hearing aids and other prosthetic devices, hearing aids will continue to not be covered for most adults.

If you have difficulty hearing and would like more information, contact Pen Bay Speech & Hearing at 207-230-6380.

Gary Friedman, M.S., F-AAA, is an audiologist at Pen Bay Speech & Hearing with extensive experience in audiometric testing, hearing aid dispensing and videonystagmography (VNG) evaluations.

Pen Bay Healthcare
Pen Bay Healthcare is a not-for-profit family of services which includes Pen Bay Medical Center, a Leapfrog Group 2012 National Top Hospital and the largest community hospital in Midcoast Maine, as well as Pen Bay Physicians & Associates, Kno-Wal-Lin Home Care and Hospice, Quarry Hill Retirement Community and the Knox Center for Long Term Care. Through these organizations, and with a staff of more than 100 outstanding physicians and more than 1,500 healthcare professionals, we are able to provide the people of Midcoast Maine with a continuum of both routine and specialty patient-centered medical services. Pen Bay Healthcare is a member of the MaineHealth system. For more information, visit penbayhealthcare.org.