Hearing aids and Insurance

When you have hearing loss, hearing aids are a worthy investment in your health. They can help you to better communicate and improve your experience of the world around you. However, hearing aids are an investment, so it’s important to consider what your budget is and how you will pay for your new devices. While you may have a medical insurance policy, many do not provide coverage for devices like hearing aids, but rather, the testing required to ascertain if you could benefit from them. So, when you are ready to invest in hearing aids, make sure you know what options are available to you and how to make the most of your money.

Will your insurance policy cover hearing aids?

The first step to finding out about your insurance in regards to hearing aids is to check whether your insurance policy covers them. There is no guarantee that your insurance company is willing to pay for them and, in fact, most insurance companies don't include hearing aids is the assistive devices that they're willing to pay for. There are several reasons for this, including that the need for hearing aids gets more likely as you get older. Many insurance companies don't want to pay for something that will become a reality for half of their customers.

A few things can affect whether your health plan covers the cost of hearing aids. For example, your location might make a difference, with the same insurance company offering a hearing aid benefit in one region but not in another. Some states have made it compulsory for insurance companies to provide full or partial coverage for hearing aids for children. When you ask about what your policy offers, check how much you can get, whether the benefit is restricted to any particular makes or technologies and what other criteria there might be.

Regardless, you won’t know your insurance company’s policy on hearing aid coverage until you speak with a representative. If coverage for these devices is not included, ask if the testing and appointments involved in this process have any kind of benefits. While you may not get assistance for your hearing aids, your insurance may offer coverage for the testing, which can still help your budget.

Financing for hearing aids

If you find that your insurance policy doesn't cover the cost of hearing aids, you still have other options to consider. When you buy your hearing aids, you will often be offered financing from the hearing instrument specialist or wherever else you might buy them from. The right financing option can make it much easier to pay for your hearing aids, allowing you to spread the cost over a number of months or even longer.

There are also credit financing options designed specifically for medical purposes and devices – including hearing aids. This type of credit typically offers no or low interest for a certain period of time as long as you make regular payments. Because many people could benefit from the use of hearing aids, this type of credit is ideal because it doesn’t charge you any additional money to your purchase if payments are made on time.

Why invest in hearing aids?

You might be unsure about investing your money in hearing aids if you're not able to get your insurance company to cover any of the cost. But there are several reasons to use hearing aids if you have hearing loss or if you have tinnitus. A compromised hearing ability can affect your quality of life in many ways. It makes it more difficult to do many of the things that you enjoy, from talking to friends to listening to music. When you find it harder to comprehend speech, it can cause misunderstandings and lead to mistakes. Hearing loss can make things dangerous for you too. You might be unable to hear approaching traffic or an alarm sounding.

Using hearing aids improves your life in a variety of ways. You can socialize as normal without having to worry about being in crowded places with lots of background noise. You can listen to your favorite music and watch TV without turning the volume up too loud and disturbing other people. If you need hearing aids, it's best to get them as soon as you can before it might be too late for them to be useful.

Contact The Hearing House by calling (715) 384-4700 to find out more about hearing aids and other hearing instruments.