Please teach me about hearing aids

May 14, 2008 10:30 PM

I need advice on purchasing hearing aids in Canada.

My Canadian mother has come to the realization [more than a little while after being told by her doctor...] that she needs a hearing aid. She's currently unemployed, and really unsure about hearing aid technology in general, so I'd like to try and offer her some advice.
Only I don't have any. Do you?

Is there any kind of funding available to help her out? What are key features / things to avoid in hearing aids these days?

Other general tips?

I want to be able to present this to her as a relatively non-daunting thing that can happen, but at first glance it seems pretty daunting, and like it might not happen soon.

posted by Acari to health & fitness (3 comments total)

If she is Ontario, its covered by the ADP program.

http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/program/adp/adp_mn.html

I would assume other provinces are similar.

Her doctor would normally give a referral to an audiologist who will recommend the speciic type she should be using.
posted by dripped at 10:51 PM on May 14, 2008

If you've got access to a Costco membership, their prices will be hard to beat on hearing aids. While getting medical devices from somewhere like Costco might be a little worrisome at first, myself and several others I know have gotten name brand contacts without any problems at all. Not hugely useful information I realize, but it might save on the expense a bit. Good luck!
posted by Nelsormensch at 10:52 PM on May 14, 2008

I went through the process of getting hearing aids (in Ontario) about a year ago.

She may not require a referral to an audiologist, given that her doctor has already recommended hearing aids to her. Has she had an audiogram done? That's the test where they put you in a soundproof room with headphones on and ask you to respond to various beeps and spoken sounds. This test can be done in a hospital's audiology department (which may involve some wait times) or, alternatively, in the office of an audiologist who also dispenses (i.e., sells) hearing aids. I had this done in a hospital first, then again by a dispensing audiologist about a year later.

FYI, Ontario's ADP gives you $500 per ear every few (5?) years. This will probably not cover the entire cost of the hearing aids, but it is a start. The way it worked for me was that that the audiologist provided a government form to be signed by my doctor indicating medical necessity.

The best advice I was given about hearing aids is that it's *not* like glasses -- whereas many people's vision can be corrected back to near perfection though the magic of mathematics, because the "seeing" part of the eye is fine and only requires optical correction, hearing loss means the ear's "hearing" parts are damaged. Hearing aids do not correct hearing, but can only amplify sound to help you make the most of the hearing you have left. The lack of miraculous hearing cures leaves many hearing aid wearers feeling like it's a "scam", but I've found mine to be very, very helpful and can't imagine going without them.

In general, the Canadian Hearing Society is a great resource.
posted by onshi at 4:16 AM on May 15, 2008