When private insurance does pay, it typically covers the cost of an exam to assess hearing loss, and that's about it. The devices are expensive, sometimes costing in the $1,000 to $6,000 range -- and that's per ear.
A new federal advisory report wants to make buying a hearing aid as easy and inexpensive as buying prescription eyeglasses, calling for changes to “dramatically increase competition and increase new choices for millions of Americans” experiencing hearing loss.
The Hearing Loss Association of America believes seniors with hearing loss should not have to scrimp and save, or go without basic needs, to just be able to hear. Seniors on fixed incomes, seniors who depend on Social Security and Medicare, seniors who don’t qualify for Medicaid or who live in states that don’t provide hearing aids through Medicaid, should not have to choose between hearing and their other basic needs.