Worried about hearing loss? How a health plan can help

Before you chose your health plan, you probably checked to see if the essentials were covered. So, for instance, you made sure your providers were in-network and what the wellness benefits were.

But there are two essentials that should also be on your list: Are hearing services covered? If so, what does the hearing benefit look like?

While many health plans include hearing coverage, sometimes the coverage might not offer the services you need. Or maybe you have hearing benefits that you don’t know about.

The first thing to do is review your coverage to make sure your hearing is protected — and how. Here are the benefits to look for. But first, a quick refresher on why hearing health is so important.

Health effects of hearing loss

Anyone can suffer from hearing loss. In fact, 15% of people ages 18 and older have trouble hearing.¹ And the older you get, the more likely it is that you’ll have some degree of hearing loss. Hearing loss affects about a third of people ages 65 to 74 and nearly half of people ages 75 and older.¹

“Hearing loss is a treatable medical disorder that’s associated with social and professional isolation and debilitation,” says Jeffrey S. Weingarten, M.D. He’s an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor in Southfield, Michigan.

What’s more, hearing loss may increase your risk of depression, according to Tricia Ashby, Au.D. She’s the senior director of audiology practices at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). “The thing that ties us to other human beings is communication,” she says. “It’s being able to talk to one another.” And when this ability gets taken away due to hearing loss, it could lead to social isolation and depression.⁵

Hearing loss may also contribute to two surprising health problems: dementia and fall risk. But the positive news is that treating it can help. One study found that wearing hearing aids may lower the risk of dementia by almost half. (This was among high-risk older adults.)^{2, 3} Another study suggests that wearing hearing aids may also lower fall risk by half.⁴

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3 key parts of hearing insurance coverage

Hearing aids are the most common treatment for hearing loss. But they’re just part of what you should look for as you review your plan. The three key parts of hearing coverage are:⁶

• Assessment. This includes testing your hearing.
• Devices. This includes products like hearing aids.
• Treatment. This includes services like audiological rehabilitation.

Here’s a closer look at these important features.

1. Hearing assessment

Your primary care provider may do a simple hearing screening test when you go for your annual physical. But that may not always be enough to identify hearing loss.

“It’s a quiet room, and it’s just the two of you,” says Ashby. “So, it really doesn’t give us enough information about your communication abilities.”

For example, it doesn’t answer questions like these:

• How well do you hear in a crowded room?
• Which pitches do you have trouble with?
• Are both ears affected?
• What’s causing your hearing loss?

A hearing assessment by a hearing care professional goes further. It will show if you have hearing loss, why you have it and how it affects each ear. It will also help determine what treatment options may work best.⁷

Take care of your hearing. UnitedHealthcare Hearing helps members access hearing exams, hearing aids and more. Learn more.

2. Devices

Hearing aids can cost thousands of dollars. One study found that the average cost for a pair (with services) was about $4,700.⁸

That’s why, if you need hearing aids, you want to check if your health plan helps cover the cost. Some plans give you an allowance to spend on hearing aids. Other plans require you to pay a copay. 

It’s easy to focus on dollar amounts, but it’s important to understand other details too. Dr. Weingarten recommends looking at these key elements:

• Does my plan cover one or two hearing aids?
• How often does my plan allow me to replace my hearing aids?
• Does my plan cover the brand, style and technology level my hearing aid professional recommends?

“Most plans will pay for a portion of the hearing aids every three to five years,” says Dr. Weingarten. “That is the typical life expectancy of the hearing aid.”

3. Treatment

When you put on new glasses, your vision may improve instantly. The same isn’t true of hearing aids. It takes time for your brain to remember what to do with the sounds it hasn’t received in a while.

“When you’ve had 20 years of hearing loss, you can’t undo that just by popping hearing aids in your ears,” says Ashby.

After you’ve worn your hearing aids for a while, your hearing care professional can adjust them (or show you how). That should make them work better for you.

If you have mild to moderate hearing loss, you may want to try OTC hearing aids, which allow you to do more settings adjustments on your own.

If you’re using prescription hearing aids, Ashby recommends understanding how many follow-up visits are covered by your fitting agreement with your hearing care professional. “Sometimes you get one or two, while others might give you a year of follow-up,” she says. And if you need more than that, you may be paying out-of-pocket for additional visits.

Even if your plan doesn't cover hearing aids and related visits, it probably helps you get the hearing care you need — for less than what it would be out of pocket.

Sources

1. Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Last updated March 17, 2023.
2. Hearing intervention versus health education control to reduce cognitive decline in older adults with hearing loss in the USA (ACHIEVE): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial The Lancet. Published July 17, 2023.
3. Hearing aids slow cognitive decline in people at high risk National Institutes of Health. Published August 8, 2023.
4. Consistent hearing aid use is associated with lower fall prevalence and risk in older adults with hearing loss Journal of the American Geriatric Society. Published June 14, 2023.
5. “The worse my hearing got, the less sociable I got:” a qualitative study Age and Ageing. Published February 2022.
6. Model health care benefits American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Accessed December 13, 2023.
7. Hearing evaluation American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Accessed December 13, 2023.
8. A broad examination of health policy barriers to access and affordability of hearing treatment for medicare beneficiaries Seminars in Hearing. Published February 2022.

Information is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for the advice of a licensed medical provider. Consult your provider prior to making changes to your lifestyle or health care routine.