For many of us politely described as “elderly,” hearing becomes a problem. For me it runs in the family but as a kid in the 50’s and 60’s loud music may have contributed. And, from about ten years old I’ve probably walked a thousand miles behind noisy lawnmowers without ear protection.
As a big old ugly guy, vanity is not one of my major faults, so I got my first hearing aids when I realized I was missing a lot. Specifically when an alarm on my watch went off one evening during a business meeting and I was the only one who couldn’t hear it. I never figured out how to “unset” it.
That time has come again. The old hearing aids in the picture are no longer doing the job. They are fine but my hearing is getting worse.
I’m sharing this as a cautionary tale because I was under the illusion that my Medicare Advantage plan from a company, whose name is at the top of any alphabetical listing, would easily cover the cost of new ones. Not so. What irritates me is $1250 per ear annually will only totally cover the lowest level of hearing aid, when you barely need them. The premium L90R model from a company called Phonax, would cost me $5000 AFTER the $2500 benefit was applied.
So, what is one to do if a word map of you in conversation would be dominated by “huh,” “what,?” and “come again?”
My advice would be if you are shopping for a Medicare Advantage package, investigate carefully how the hearing benefit is handled. In my case, after I had already gone with my previous carrier, I could find no mention, NONE, of the benefit on their website. When I reached a person by phone, they knew nothing either, but gave me the phone number of a separate company that handles the benefit for them, and this is where the additional cost comes in because it adds two, three or maybe four middlemen to the process, who have to make a little money too.
The pair I’m retiring that is pictured I bought directly on-line from a company called Audicus. I had then and have now a report from testing by an audiologist, however you can also get tested online. I had one small problem with them in the first year that they fixed quickly at no cost. I can get their premium aids for about $1500 a pair which includes bluetooth capability and rechargeable batteries, which the old ones don’t. Costco offers the premium brand of three different companies for around $1500, which I assume includes the testing, but I might be wrong.
Most of the Medicare Advantage plans include this hearing aid benefit. I’d be interested in any information anyone has about how other providers handle the benefit. Use the comment area or message me directly if you want to remain anonymous, and I’ll add it to the comments.