Understanding Common Insurance Benefits for Hearing Devices
You have hearing health insurance, but do you know what it covers? It’s always best to contact your insurance company to find out for sure, but here are some basics on common insurance benefits.
Commercial/Private Insurance
If your plan does have a hearing health benefit (usually a set dollar amount per year or every few years), you will likely need to meet your deductible before your insurance covers any testing and hearing device costs. This type of insurance may also include out-of-network hearing benefits, which means you have more flexibility in which provider you see.
Third-Party Administrators (TPAs)
If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, a TPA acts as a middleman between this government insurance program and the hearing provider to help control costs.
With a TPA, you can only see in-network providers—there’s no out-ofnetwork coverage. TPAs also control the type of hearing product and level of care you receive, which limits your options and may mean paying outof-pocket costs for vital services (device fittings, routine maintenance, etc.) and types of hearing devices that aren’t covered.
Medicaid & Vocational Rehabilitation
In general, Medicaid and Vocational Rehabilitation programs only cover the lower levels of hearing device technology. Want/need a device with advanced features? You will have to pay extra for it.
Veteran’s Administration
The VA provides hearing devices at no cost to veterans and all the care and services that accompany them. The VA usually dispenses the highest level of technology.
TriCare
Available for active-duty military members, TriCare covers hearing aids, bone-anchored hearing aids and hearing-related care for individuals and beneficiaries with profound hearing loss.
Workers’ Compensation
If you suffer a work-related injury that impacts your hearing, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation hearing benefits. These include hearing devices and services, which are available with no out-of-pocket costs.
The Family Hearing Center can help guide you to the insurance/financing option that works best for your needs and budget. Ask our team for more information today.
CLINIC NEWS T L C
Dear Patients,
On August 31, I will be retiring from my position as the Director of TLC’s Family Hearing Center. After much consideration, I feel that now is the right time for me to focus on my personal interests and spend time with my family.
It has been a privilege and a pleasure to be part of TLC for the past 26 years, and I am very grateful for the relationships I have built with my patients and colleagues. Many of you are like family to me. We’ve shared many joyful moments together, and I will truly miss our conversations, whether they were personal or related to your hearing health care.
I will do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition, but please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any concerns. I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you—the achievements we have shared will always be cherished.
Sincerely,
Susan Yaffe-Oziel
Is It Your Hearing, or Is It Your TV?
You’re watching the latest episode of your favorite TV show, wrapped up in the story and hanging on each actor’s every word. Suddenly, you can’t make out a sentence, blurt out, “What did she say?” and completely lose the plot.
Struggling to hear your TV is a telltale sign of hearing loss. Unfortunately, modern TVs, speakers and other factors don’t make it any easier.
Why Hearing Your TV Is Sometimes Hard.
Poor TV speaker sound—The speakers in your TV are likely tiny, offer unsatisfactory sound quality and are set to the manufacturer’s setting. To fine-tune your listening experience, go to your TV’s Sound menu and select Dialogue, News or Speech Boost mode to make speech clearer. Also, consider turning down the bass, which can overwhelm dialogue.
Soundbar or external speaker snafus—These devices likely provide better sound than your TV speakers but can still be insufficient. You’ll want to ensure speakers aren’t too close to a wall or inside a cabinet, activate the speech-improving Movie mode on your soundbar and remove speaker grills.
Movie dialogue getting more challenging to understand—Today’s films may use a more real-life style, where you’re not supposed to hear every word and the actors mumble. On set, capturing speech with a boom mic close to an actor may not work with the visuals of the shot, leading to softer, less clear dialogue. And mixing sound for TV streaming can be challenging, resulting in less-than-optimal sound quality.
Regardless of your TV settings, if you find yourself needing to turn the volume up, you should talk to our expert audiologists about a hearing test.
In the meantime, consider using the Closed Captioning mode on your TV or a streamer (if you already have hearing aids) to help you hear speech better.
