In 1977, the Hearing Aid Rule was passed by the Food and Drug Administration to set up boundaries of who can sell hearing aids.  The rule was passed to protect consumers from aggressive sales people who were selling hearing aids to people that didn’t need them.  In several reported cases, people with hearing loss had medical issues like infections, nerve tumors or excessive ear wax, and didn’t need hearing aids.  The FDA felt that requiring a medical exam prior to purchasing hearing aids would eliminate these abuses.

This meant that only two groups of people could sell hearing aids:  a state-licensed hearing aid dispenser and audiologists.  State-licensed dispensers have to prove their competence to administer hearing exams, fit devices and recognize underlying physical problems and are required to have a high-school diploma. Audiologists must have at least a master’s degree, though they generally aren’t medical doctors. After the FDA rule went into effect, audiologists changed their professional code of ethics and began to sell hearing aids.

So now, we have a tightly controlled distribution system of who can sell hearing aids.  The excuse that these groups use in charging high prices for hearing aids is the education, testing and regulations required to do so.  This reason does not sit well with many hearing aid consumers.  In fact, the high cost prevents many people who need hearing aids from purchasing them (only one in five people that need hearing aids, get them, according to BHI).

But there is more to the story.  Both sides of the discussion have points that are easy counterbalanced by the other.

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Here’s how to ensure you get the right aids for you: (more…)

• Hearing aid batteries.  Be sure and get the right size for the hearing aid.  You can tell the size by the color strip on the package.
• Ear plugs for loud activities like using a hair dryer or mowing the lawn.  Go ahead and get these for everyone on your list.  Include this little reminder with the ear plugs to champion hearing protection.
• An extra dry aid kit.  Most hearing aids come with one.  But, having a extra one for a suitcase, a gym bag, a bedside table or for when the other one needs to be refreshed is helpful and will keep your hearing aids in top condition.
• Ear cleaning kit.  Keeping your ears clean is helpful for your hearing and your aid.  See here for more information on ear wax.
• Hearing Aid cleaning kit.  A daily brushing of the microphone is critical in the maintenance of these expensive devices.

These things are not expensive, but are very helpful.  Just five little ways to keep healthy hearing a part of all of our lives.   Happy Holidays.

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• More than 45,000 vets from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom have hearing loss.
• Of the 300,000 vets from the post 9/11/01 conflict, tinnitus is the #1 disability and hearing loss is #2.
• 35% of returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan have hearing loss.

Any decibel above 85 is considered harmful.  Rifle fire is 150 decibels.  Bombing practices regularly hit 110 - 130 decibels.   Some troops have their hearing damaged during a skirmish and then can not hear commands that lead them to safety.    Their fellow soldiers are yelling at them to run or duck, but they can no longer hear.  As a hearing-impaired person whose chief complaint is missing out on some conversation during a social outing, this is horrifying.

But here is an even more horrifying part:   Most of these cases of hearing loss were because the soldier opted not to wear hearing protection.   Air Force Col. Joseph A. Brennan, the ENT doctor at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, asks every soldier whom complains of hearing related issues if they were wearing hearing protection.  “Since I arrived here in May, I have not had one service member answer yes to that question,” he says.

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• Hearing Aids - most people get new ones every four to five years.
• Hearing Aid Batteries - batteries meet the IRS code for medical expenses and equipment.
• Yearly Hearing Exam - not all insurance companies cover this basic test.  Check and see if your does, and if it doesn’t, call your ENT and your Audiologist to find out how much a maintenance exam will cost.  Include the price in your health care costs for next year.
• Do you need special equipment at work or at home to help you communicate.  Include these expected purchases in your total.
• If you use Acupuncture or other natural health care services to help relieve tinnitus or other issues, the cost of the service is a qualified expense.

The full IRS publication is here.   The list of qualifying expenses start on page five.   Please email us if you have any questions.