It's upsetting that people have to struggle for such a basic need. Are you on Medicare? Have you checked to see if they cover any of the costs? If not, I would ask a hearing aid specialist is they know of any programs that can help pay for one. I would think they keep up the issues.
There are some service clubs that collect used hearing aids and pay to fix them up, so there has to be a way to obtain them. Maybe someone else on the site knows how one goes about this and we can both learn.
Meanwhile, if your Medicare coverage won't cover any of it, I'd check with the local hearing aid clinics and see what they know.
CAll your United Way office and ask for a resource. Some hearing aid companies will help connect you to a resource also. Call your state office that provides captioning for the hearing impaired on television. Good luck! sherylo
You can also buy used hearing aids for very reasonable prices. There are a number of good online articles on how to buy an appropriate pair of second hand hearing aids and how to have them re calibrated to fit your needs. My Moms doctor is going to give her a pair of hearing aids that another patient can't use.
There are also state sponsored programs for electronics & telephones for hearing impaired & deaf that are free or subsidized depending.
Check with service clubs like Lions, Optimists and Rotary - on a local level many of the members are professionals who have been known to waive fees or help local residents with high ticket items like hearing aids. The shame is that the mark-up on hearing aids is significant, and it is a commission driven sale.
Medicare should pay for her hearing aids ( she has two ears, correct?), and this is prescribed by an ENT specialist first. If you want to move a little faster on this, then I might approach the local Kiwanis or Rotary Club. They are very good at raising money for this type of assistance.
My friend got new hearing aids last year and they cost $6000 for the two hearing aids. Very expensive. They tried to tell me that my husband needed them. With Alzheimer's they would have been lost the first day! He loses his glasses all the time. Puts them in strange places and they are just gone until someone (me) comes across them! I don't have that kind of money to waste.
Instead of hearing aids I would consider trying a personal amplifier like the Pocketalker. It is amazing how well it works. Even seen people use it in place of their hearing aids. Much harder to lose and not very expensive.
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There are some service clubs that collect used hearing aids and pay to fix them up, so there has to be a way to obtain them. Maybe someone else on the site knows how one goes about this and we can both learn.
Meanwhile, if your Medicare coverage won't cover any of it, I'd check with the local hearing aid clinics and see what they know.
Good luck. Please share what you learn.
Carol
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From what I hear they cost in the thousands new.
Check with service clubs like Lions, Optimists and Rotary - on a local level many of the members are professionals who have been known to waive fees or help local residents with high ticket items like hearing aids. The shame is that the mark-up on hearing aids is significant, and it is a commission driven sale.
If you want to move a little faster on this, then I might approach the local Kiwanis or Rotary Club. They are very good at raising money for this type of assistance.
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