Affordable Hearing Aids for Folks of Modest Means
By Stephen O. Frazier, VP of Albuquerque SHHH
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October 2005
Editor: Hearing aids are expensive! There's no getting around it.
With growing concern that a lot of folks are just flat unable to afford
hearing aids, some measures are in the works, including efforts to
secure a tax credit for hearing aid purchases and efforts to require
health insurance policies to cover hearing aids. An organization called
Audient Alliance is doing something NOW. Here's Steve Frazier with the
story.
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One of the major reasons given by Hard of Hearing individuals for not
purchasing hearing aids is their cost. During his visit to Albuquerque
last February, Terry Portis, Executive Director of the national Self
Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH) organization, told members of the
local chapter that the average cost for a pair of hearing aids today is
$3,400, a figure that puts them out of reach for many - especially
seniors. $1,700 per hearing aid secures a medium quality, fully digital
hearing aid but there are less sophisticated models available for about
half of that - still making a pair cost up to $2000 when incidental
costs are included.
A spokesperson for the local SHHH chapter says that one of the most
frequent complaints voiced by people who contact the group is the high
cost of hearing instruments and the most frequent question is,
"Where can I get affordable hearing aids?" To address this
problem, the national SHHH organization has joined in promoting a new
program entitled AUDIENT, an alliance for accessible hearing care for
low income populations who are challenged by the cost of hearing care.
Central to this program is the availability of high quality digital
hearing aids at a cost that makes them affordable to those who otherwise
might not have adequate financial resources. The alliance, formed by the
Northwest Lion's Foundation for Sight and Hearing, includes hearing
healthcare providers, hearing instrument manufacturers and leading
institutions across the country who want to serve SHHH members and
others who are unable to pay for the hearing care they or their families
need.
To qualify for this plan, an applicant's annual income must not
exceed $23,500 for a single adult or $31,225 for a family of two.
Applicants are screened by AUDIENT to determine income qualification and
then referred to a participating local hearing care professional for a
hearing test, ear molds and the dispensing of the instruments. Those
applicants who meet the income requirements can get good quality digital
hearing aids including fitting, adjustments and ear molds for either
$599 or $625 for a single hearing aid, or $988 or $1040 for a pair. The
difference of cost depends on the patient's hearing needs.
These fees include the cost of fitting patients through AUDIENT
providers. The fees are the same from all providers and include fitting
and orientation, ear molds, up to three aural rehabilitation follow up
visits, and administration of an outcome measure questionnaire, from
which AUDIENT will collect outcomes data. The diagnostic evaluation is
charged separately.
To apply for care now, or to learn more about the program, AUDIENT
can be contacted directly at 1(877) 283-4367. Interested parties can
also visit the AUDIENT website: http://www.audientalliance.org/index.htm
or contact a program services representative by email at: info@audientalliance.org
