Do you have difficulty hearing conversations held in a noisy room? Do you have a harder time picking up women’s voices than men’s? Do you constantly ask others to repeat what they just said? If you answered ‘yes’ to these questions, you may be experiencing hearing loss, especially if you are 65 or older.
About 8.5 percent of adults between the ages of 55 and 64 suffer from hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. That number jumps to 25 percent for those 65 to 74, and it doubles to 50 percent for ages 75 and older. After high blood pressure and arthritis, hearing loss is the most common chronic condition affecting senior health.
What Causes Hearing Loss?
As you age, you are at risk for two types of hearing loss. The most common type of hearing loss in seniors is presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss. A gradual loss of hearing that affects both ears, presbycusis occurs when tiny hairs in the ear, which are necessary for converting sound waves to sound, become damaged or die. Hearing loss from presbycusis is permanent because once these hairs are damaged or die, they are not replaced with new growth.
The other type of hearing loss that seniors experience is tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. Tinnitus can be either permanent or temporary.
It’s unfortunate, but millions of Americans with hearing loss don’t get hearing aids because they simply can’t afford them. Hearing aids are expensive, typically costing between $1,000 and $3,500 per ear, and most insurance companies, including traditional Medicare, don’t cover them. While there’s no one simple solution to finding affordable hearing aids, there are a variety of options you can look into that can help.
Check Insurance
Your first step is to check with your health insurance provider to see if it provides any hearing aid coverage.
If you’re a Medicare beneficiary, you need to know that while original Medicare (Part A and B) and Medicare supplemental policies do not cover hearing aids, some Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans do. If you have an Advantage plan, you’ll need to check with your plan administrator.
Or, if you’re a federal employee or retiree, hearing aid coverage may be available through some insurance plans in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Or if you’re a veteran, the VA provides free hearing aids if you meet certain conditions such as being compensated for any serviced-connected disability or if your hearing loss is connected to military service. See va.gov or call 877-222-8387 to check your eligibility.
Financial Assistance
Depending on your income level, there are various programs and foundations that provide financial assistance for hearing aids to people in need. Read more for information on these programs.
July 11 Carol presents I love My Kids But Do I have to Live with Them? for
OASIS at [Alicia Treviño López Senior One-Stop] (https://www.wellmedcharitablefoundation.org/senior-centers/alicia-trevino-lopez-senior-one-stop/).
July 26 Carol presents Who Decides? Guardianship and Powers of Attorney at
OASIS at Morning side.
2016 San Antonio Walk to End Alzheimer's
Unite in a movement to reclaim the future for millions. Join our team for the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's®, the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds to fight Alzheimer's disease. Together, we can advance research to treat and prevent Alzheimer's, and provide programs and support to improve the lives of millions of affected Americans.
Date: September 17, 2016
Registration at 7:30am | Ceremony at 9am | Walk at 9:30am
Route Length: 2 miles
Location: AT&T Center
Book of the Month: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
It's first the story of two women in the 1980s, of gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode telling her life story to Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age. The tale she tells is also of two women—of the irrepressibly daredevilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth, who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, a Southern kind of Cafe Wobegon offering good barbecue and good coffee and all kinds of love and laughter, even an occasional murder.
