There are a great many factors involved in figuring out how much a hearing test or even hearing aids cost. While Medicare does not cover hearing health, there are a number of other avenues to consider. Which health insurance can help? Are children’s hearing tests free? Seniors discounts? More often than not, you might even have reduced-fee options available which you may not have been aware of. So we’ve compiled a small list of who pays for what in the hearing health world.
Children
Starting with our youngest generation, young Australians under the age of 26 are entitled to hearing health checks. Under the age of 21, children can receive hearing service through the government at Hearing Australia. This means free hearing checks, and subsidies for those needing hearing rehabilitation (e.g. Hearing Aids, Roger Receivers…). From 21 to 25, those meeting the eligibility criteria can continue to receive these subsidies from other hearing providers.
Alternatively, hearing health providers such as Falls of Sound can provide private services to children. This can help with appointment waiting times or offer different brands to your child if you wish. Further information on children’s hearing health inclusions can be found on the Hearing Services website here.
Government Pensions
If you hold a blue government pensioner concession card, you may be eligible for the Hearing Service Program (HSP). Even if you aren’t receiving much – or any! – pension from the government, it’s worth checking your eligibility. Through HSP, you are entitled to yearly hearing health checks free of charge whether you have a loss or not. If we do find you have an aidable hearing loss, HSP offers either fully or partially subsidised hearing devices. These can be hearing aids or Assistive Listening Devices (e.g. TV Headsets) and are renewed every 5 years.
Under special circumstances, you may be eligible for new subsidies before the 5-year date limit. You may also decide to privately purchase new hearing devices should your government subsidised ones not be good enough. If you have any questions or concerns, have a chat with our team about your options. HSP patients with Falls of Sound are also entitled to half price wax removals.
It’s worth noting that your pensioner concession card entitles you to a wide range of services and concessions. You can find a full list of these options available by clicking here.
Private Health Insurances
This is the tricky bit because every provider is different. Firstly, check to see with your health insurance whether hearing health is one of your selected options. Usually, hearing is an optional extra that you need to select, so make sure to add that. With that selected, most private health insurances will reimburse part of your hearing test. Falls of Sound will provide you with the required documentation to put that claim through.
Your private health insurance may also cover part of the cost of hearing devices. Each insurance will have its own policy on how much they reimburse. Some will have yearly amounts, some will have 3 or 5-year turnovers. Some may reimburse an amount per ear or for both together. If you are looking at purchasing hearing aids, it is worth getting in touch with your insurance and checking.
Falls of Sound Help
Of course, it’s easy when you work with this every day, but it’s a lot for a newcomer! Our Falls of Sound team is here to help you navigate this financial maze. We will be able to advise you on your pension hearing allowances or provide private health insurance letters. Invoices will be made to include any HSP subsidies for your reference with any private health notes added. So if you are unsure or have any questions, just get in touch with our team.