Top News
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