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New York Times Discovers “Hearing Problem”

New York — Well, it wasn’t front page news, but inside the July 25 Business Day section was just as good a place as any for the New York Times to shed light on the learning curve involved in purchasing hearing aids.

Headlined, “Buying a Hearing Aid? You’ve Got a Lot to Learn,” by Walecia Konrad, the feature centers on Bob Buckwalter, a retired pastor in Williamstown, Mass, who finally quit resisting the idea of hearing aids only to be forced to confront the price tag of $4,600.

“It’s a monumental amount,” said Buckwalter, quoted at the top of the article. “The technology is impressive, and they’ve certainly made a difference in my life. But the fact is, they’re extremely expensive. And what I’m really surprised by is the fact that insurance doesn’t pay for them.

Konrad goes on to confirm that Medicare and most private insurance will pay only for the doctor visit to determine the need for a device.

“What’s more,” Konrad writes, “in the current health reform effort in Congress, while the House legislation would provide more coverage for children’s hearing aids, no one is proposing to pay for adults’ devices.”

Mention is made only in passing of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit Assistance Act, as “legislation proposing a tax break for hearing aid purchases.”

The latter half of the piece offers a checklist from the Hearing Loss Association of America for people looking to purchase a hearing aid and in need of a dispenser.

The article is available on the following pages of the New York Times Web site (registration may be required to access it):

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/health/25patient.html

Readers’ comments can be found on this Web page:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/shopping-for-a-hearing-aid/

SOURCE: New York Times

Phonak has come out with earphones for your music player and etc. They are called Audeo Perfect Fit Earphones. Here is a little video about the new earphones. So far everything I have been hearing is positive. If you have tried them leave a comment on this article, please.

I went to visit my 96-year-young patient at his residence today to see how he was doing with his new Phonak Exelia Arts. This young man has very poor word understanding, about 36%, and he has an average of 80% of his hearing is gone. He and his wife live in a retirement community here in Florida and frequently eat dinner with other couples. He has a lot of trouble conversing with the couples because of the noise in the dining room. Even though he has difficulty communicating with other people, he did not want to spend the money on getting new hearing aids but his wife wants the best for him and she insisted. His wife doesn’t care about the money, she wants him to enjoy life and be part of the conversations at their retirement community.

On his first follow-up visit after getting the Phonak Exelia Arts, his wife was in the hospital so I wasn’t able to get her input, however, his feelings about how he was doing with the hearing aids was fairly positive. Today, on his second follow-up visit with me, I was surprised to see his daughter was in town from California. She has known how much trouble her dad has been having when talking with her over the phone every weekend, so she also was all for the new hearing aids as well. His daughter told me that she had called her dad before her and her husband left California to come to Florida. She said they had a good conversation with barely any repeating of words and she could tell right away that he was doing good. His daughter also said, “When I arrived and we started talking he could hear everything I was saying; he never could do that before.”

About that time, his wife emerged from the bedroom and sat down. I asked her (me biting my nails waiting on the answer), “So, how do think he is doing?” At this moment I was hoping and praying that she was going to tell me that he was doing good, as he has been struggling for so long. She replied “He is doing fabulous!” I about jumped out of my chair. She said, “He is able to hear me and he is able to hear at the dinner table and converse with other couples with no trouble.” I could that he was doing well when in quiet and talking with his wife, BUT, I was floored to know that he was hearing so well in a noisy dining room. WOW!

I turned and looked at him and said, “I am so happy to hear that you are doing so well, and I also think we are more happier about that than you are.” He said, “Well I did this for my wife.” He is so humble and what a giving man, for if his wife would have not been here to urge him to get the hearing aids, he would have never done it for himself.