Mike Demer’s Story

This is Mike Demers from Mundeliein, Illinois.  I grew up in Massachusetts where I received free hearing aids when I was young.  I moved to Illinois in 1995.  I had to pay for new hearing aids in 1998 because it is not covered by insurance.  It is now 2008 and my hearing aids are very old.  I cannot afford to pay for new ones because my budget is very tight and gas and food are expensive.  I am fighting for Blue Cross insurance to pay for new hearing aids.  It is not fair  that cochlear implants are covered by insurance companies but hearing aids are not.  Please change it so that hearing aids are covered by insurance.    Thank you very much for taking the time to read my story.

Jessica Bianco’s Story

This morning as I listened to my clock ticking my son was sleeping next to me. Because he was not wearing his hearing aids, he was completely unaware of the ticking. The clock screamed at me, “WRITE THE STORY, WRITE THE STORY, WRITE THE STORY”. My story is overdue. I promised I would submit it months ago. But how? How do I write something to convince Congress to vote for legislation that only affects 1 out of 10 American children born? See, no matter how hard I try, I cannot make Congress realize that most of us are born being able to hear everything around us. A simple change in legislation related to health insurance would allow children born with hearing loss and aging adults obtain the proper hearing aids for their hearing loss.

 

 

Maybe instead of writing a story, I should come up with a catchy slogan like MasterCard. You know:

Cochlear Implants-Free (really they are $97, 000 but insurance covers the hospital bill).

Hearing Aids-$5,000.00 (but insurance doesn’t pay the bill).

Being able to hear life-Priceless.

 

 

Honestly, my thought is to come to Washington, DC when Congress is in session and pass out ear plugs and have legislators conduct business as “normal” and see how effective they are. My son’s school did this one time for parents. After we took a test with ear plugs in, which most of us failed, the teachers stated that using ear plugs represents a person with MILD hearing loss. I cried.

 

 

My family is lucky. We can afford hearing aids for our son. But, there are many Americans who are not as lucky as we are. Please write your congress person and convince them to vote in favor of hearing aid legislation. Convince them to sit still and listen to the sounds around them, and then think of my son and millions of other Americans who cannot hear anything.  Convince them to help those Americans hear life. 

 

 

Jessica Bianco

 

Deb Mussallem’s Story

I remember 40 years ago to this day, when I was a child, how my parents, who are deaf, learned from my kindergarten teacher that I was not hearing her when she called me in class.  Hearing tests were performed and I was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss.  Although I would have benefited far better with bilateral hearing aids, I was fitted with one hearing aid.  It was all my parents could afford.

 

My parents later learned that my two younger sisters also needed hearing aids.   Dad’s insurance had no coverage for hearing aids.  No assistance was available.  It put a strain on my parents’ finances, their marriage, and our quality of life.  It was very difficult times and I’ll never forget the hardship it caused us for many years where at times our hearing aids needed to be replaced.

 

Today, I am married to a very supportive hearing husband. We have three great kids. One daughter age 10, who is deaf, another daughter age 7 and a son age 5 who are hearing impaired.  

My children and I all wear bilateral hearing aids.  Eight hearing aids!!

 

In 1998, we discovered our oldest daughter, 15 months old, had severe/profound hearing loss.  .  She needed two hearing aids.  No financial assistance was available.  Our insurance had no coverage for hearing aids.  We paid for them with our savings. 

 

A few years ago we all went for a routine hearing exam.  We were informed that my two younger children age 5 & age 3 at the time also had hearing loss.  We needed two more sets of new hearing aids. We didn’t know how we were going to come up with that kind of money, but we knew we had to.   Our only two options were either to exhaust years of savings or borrow money.

 

I thought to myself, is our life going to be that of my parents.

 

Without hearing aids my children and I would not have a quality life socially, academically, and professionally.

 

I am a career mom.  I need hearing aids to help me listen & communicate at work everyday with others.  I honestly know I would not have succeeded in my place of employment without them.

 

My oldest daughter, who is profoundly deaf and wears bilateral hearing aids, has attended deaf and hard of hearing programs since she was 3 years old.  Today at age 10, she attends 4^th grade hearing classes in our home school district. She is an A student.   She came home one day and signed. ‘Mom, today my teacher told the whole class that I was the only one that received 100% on our math test on fractions & algebra.’  That’s incredible.  I was so proud of her.

 

My other two younger children struggle without their hearing aids.  There have been instances where they did not wear their aids to school because they were being repaired or they just simply forgot to put them on.  They were very frustrated because they could not hear what the teachers were saying or when their friends were socializing with them.  Imagine not having them at all.

 

I have friends and relatives both adult & children who would benefit tremendously with hearing aids and do not them. They simply cannot afford them.  They have insurance with no hearing aid coverage.   Everyday they missed information that pertinent to their  lives when they do not hear.  That is very sad.

 

It is outrageous the high premiums we pay for insurance for our family and it does not cover hearing aids.  Only cochlear implant was covered.  Why?  My oldest daughter said.  ‘I don’t want cochlear implant.  I want hearing aids.  I should have a choice’.   

 

My husband and I have set a new savings goal.  Our goal is to save approximately $30k for future replacement of eight hearing aids for our family.  Isn’t that crazy.   Our goal should be saving the children’s college like any other hearing family.  .

 

We need change; this has gone on far too long. The time is now for insurance coverage for hearing aids.

 

Deb Mussallem, Lemont, IL

Susan Etkie’s Story

I have been a hearing aid user since very young. My parents always made sure
I had a working hearing aid as well as one meeting my needs. Growing up I
did not realize the cost of a hearing aid.

I have been married for 30 years. I have very good speech and many people
often do not realize I have a hearing problem until I mention it. I needed a
new aid about 20 years ago and insurance would not pay for it. I did try
the digital aid several years ago and loved it and felt it would benefit me but
I could not afford it with 4 kids.I have gone without a hearing aid for 10
years now. There have been many incidents where I wish I had a hearing
aid but have no choice.

To be able to hear again with a hearing aid is something I have given up on.
Now I find out the Deaf community is fighting a bill for insurance to pay for
the hearing aid and I am excited. My kids are excited for me cuz my 2 oldest
ones remember when I could hear some things.

I do not understand why we pay for insurance and some things are covered
and some things are not covered. Each individual has specific needs so
insurance should meet the individuals’ needs. Please take into consideration
that many people will benefit from having a hearing aid and the need is
huge.

Thank you,
Susan Etkie

Julie Chavez’s Story

Hello!  My name is JulieAnn Chavez and I am married to my husband of 22 years, Jim Chavez.  Jim and I are hard of hearing so between the two of us; we have four hearing aids.  During our 22 years of marriage, we purchased one pair of hearing aids for each of us and that was it because it was too expensive to buy all four.  I recall letting my husband to be the first to get his hearing aids because he needed it for his job and at that time, I was a stay-at-home mom with a small part-time home-based business, so I got by with one aid although it was frustrating at times. 

In 2001, both of our aids were in terrible shape and this time, I was working and my husband was unemployed.  We were able to get our hearing aids with the assistance of Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS). 

 

Here we are in 2008, both Jim and I are with out one aid each.  The aids we are wearing are not so good anymore.  We are discussing our options on how to finance the hearing aids since we both require hearing aids to function 100% for our jobs!!  We are looking into assistance as well but that’s looking a bit gloomy.  We are looking into repairing them and the cost to repair our aids is quite expensive!!  The earmolds- give me a break–  85 bucks just for one!  Oh don’t get me started on the costs of repairs and the cost of new ones… Ohhh and hearing aid batteries!  Eight – to – ten  bucks just for one pack and they don’t last long!

It just angers me that insurance companies consider hearing aids as COSMETIC devices!!  Preposterous!!  I checked with our insurance company to see if it covers Cochlear Implants and guess what- it does– but they won’t pay for hearing aids?  I feel like I am being denied a choice here.  Now, I’m not against Cochlear Implants but it’s my choice that I don’t want the implants and neither does my husband.  See where I’m going with this? We should be allowed choices!

So, HAVE YOU HEARD?  THE TIME IS NOW to get the State of Illinois to mandate insurance companies to provide coverage for hearing aids and with NO age restrictions! 

I encourage everyone to join us in making a UNITED EFFORT to get a bill to pass for MANDATED INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR HEARING AIDS! 

I’m tired of being turned down by insurance companies for coverage on hearing aids, aren’t you?

How can you help??  Sign up for our listserv at hearingaids2008@gmail.com and spread the word to everyone that you know that wear hearing aids. 

Share your story with us!  Stay tuned by checking our website often!!

 

Have you heard?  The time is now!!

 

Joanne’s Story

I am profoundly deaf and wear one hearing aid.  Every five years or so, I would need to buy a new hearing aid.  My insurance does not cover hearing aids. The cost of hearing aids has gone up TOO high. 

 In the past , without insurance,  it was manageable to purchase a $500 to $700 analog hearing aid.  My next hearing aid is going to be digital… I don’t have a choice. They do not make analog hearing aids anymore.  The digital hearing aids are $1500 and up. 

 Without insurance, I am not going to be able to afford one without financial hardship on my family.  Hearing aids are always an unexpected and sudden expense.  They get old, die on you, etc.   I fear the day that my current hearing aid dies on me.   With insurance, I would be able to purchase a new hearing aid right away and benefit from it.

Joanne Murbach

Kelly’s Hearing Aid Story

My name is Kelly and I am 29 years old. Last year I found out that I needed hearing aids for
both ears. They are not sure why I lost my hearing. They said it could just be hereditary or it may have something to do with an ear infection I had before that.

 

When I found out that my insurance would cover NOTHING, I couldn’t believe it. I had to come up with the money. I decided not to get the hearing aids I really wanted because they were too expensive and I didn’t have the money. So I just got a cheaper pair that were
still really expensive. I think that insurance should cover this for everyone.

 

My grandma Ernestine is also hard of hearing and has needed hearing aids for many years now. However, she has not been able to afford them. She is in her 80’s and is not able to work and Medicare does not cover hearing aids.  It’s sad to see her struggle to understand what’s going on around her. She has so many health problems already and this is one problem that could easily be fixed with some hearing aids. But since insurance and Medicare don’t cover it, she has to struggle.

 

Hearing Aid Struggles: Tell Us Your Story

Have you struggled to make payments for hearing aids?  Does someone in your family need hearing aids but can’t get them because of lack of insurance coverage?   Many of us have been surprised to find out that insurance companies do not provide insurance coverage for hearing aids.   Share your story by leaving a comment below or send it to us at: Hearingaids2008@gmail.com