A mother in Virginia was able to get hearing aids for her daughter only after she lost her job. That qualified her for Medicaid. Before she lost her job, she tried to get insurance companies in Virginia to pay for her daughter's hearing aids and was turned down because hearing aids were considered "cosmetic" even when meant for a child. Activists have been trying for years to get the Virginia General Assembly to pass a bill that would mandate coverage for children's hearing aids.
Source: Mother Fights for Hearing Aid Coverage, NBC29
Deaf children do not need hearing aids. They need American Sign Language. Insurance companies should not be paying for hearing aids. They are definitely cosmetic! We will be saving a lot of money if we put responsibility on parents for unnecessary cosmetic stuff.
Guide note: Deaf children can benefit from BOTH sign language and hearing aids. The hearing aids for access to at least some sound, and the sign language for ease of communication and to fill in communication gaps.
PA is great. Not only did they buy my kid’s aids, but we got brand-new loaners right away from CHOP. Both of us have great jobs, but PA coverage is not based on income.
Whoa! Guide made a note below Barb. It is not her place to do so. Barb is right. Hearing aids are cosmetic. ASL is what Deaf children need. Sure, they can benefit from hearing aids just like people can benefit from face lifts, but they are not necessary. Deaf people do not need sounds. There are many bright professionals who live their lives without sounds and they have no communication issues.
Susan, read it again… The guide said they “CAN” benefit. She did not say they “NEED” them. Big difference in words. Some kids actually hate the aids, thus remove it. For the adults and hearing aids, it’s a personal CHOICE, to use them or not.
Since the guide is a moderator, she reserves the right to do that kind of thing. I am on a few Yahoo groups that do that. Note that she added to the bottom of the message, but did not modify your original wording.
Since I moderate elsewhere, I prefer doing a whole new post.
Cosmetic? Like you don’t need makeup to look pretty, hide a blemish, or look like a tiger? Hearing aids are a medical device in a way and help out in hearing, and in no way “enhance” or “prettify” your ears.
Rob G
You are right. The guide did say they “CAN” benefit, not NEED them. That is why insurance companies do not need to cover hearing aids or cochlear implants. Deaf people NEED ASL. Insurance companies should pay for ASL courses for hearing parents and family members who have Deaf children. Capisce?
Now hold on a second. Deaf children don’t NEED hearing aids any more than a paraplegic NEEDS a wheelchair. Hearing aids are medical devices and (as Rob G said) are far from cosmetic.
For all you diehard ASL fanatics, this might come as a shock but some deaf people actually do enjoy hearing sounds. ASL is great, but only exposing your children to Deaf culture is just as limiting as giving them a CI and saying “okay you’re hearing now”.
Saying that Deaf children need ASL and not hearing aids is both ignorant and selfish.
Insurance companies still do need to cover both hearing aids and CIs.
Now, read that statement again. Read it once more. I didn’t say anything about “for kids” or “for those under 16/18/21.” I implied EVERYONE. Again, it’s a CHOICE of getting them.
What Bob said in his last sentence is pretty much correct. Just limiting yourself to communicating with other deaf isn’t enough. You need to be able to communicate with hearing people at least somehow.
I wonder how many of you that made comments about children not needing hearing aids, and deaf people not needing sound, really understand what the meaning of deaf is? I have a profound hearing loss in certain levels and hear almost perfectly in others. Hearing aids make a world of difference, and I could not work without them. I had perfect hearing until around age 30, and had a sudden loss of hearing. As far as insurance companies not paying for them, I wonder how many of you would like it if you needed glasses and your vision insurance wouldn’t cover it. Should we all go around running into things and not being able to read!
Oh,-Please!-Thank-You for making that comment! (sarcastic) I should drop my hearing aids into the toilet, since they are so cosmetic… Following the same line of tough then my parent’s voice is so cosmetic, especially when they call me across from the room to warn me to not come into the kitchen in where a glass broke or when I hear my nephew sniff behind me. Then my hard of hearing friend should take back her new hearing aids, since she haven’t been able to hear her cosmetic clients voice at her work in the Client Assistance Program (an Advocacy System for Rehabilitation Vocational clients) as she does with her old hearing aids. My university professors, a bird twit, a beeping, chiming, the waves in the ocean, the wind in the country, the ambulance siren, the fire alarm, the school bell, all that is cosmetic also. My mom doesn’t use hearing aids, it’s her CHOICE. Sound may be “cosmetic”, but I do LOVE my hearing aids more than I love my lone time without them. I never liked ASL, nor did understand it well as a kid, and I benefited, and still do, from hearing aids.
Because you don’t like them, or haven’t benefited from them, it doesn’t mean that no one else will. Let’s stop being so “global minded” thinking about “everyone’s needs” and start thinking proactively about the *INDIVIDUAL* needs. Not every deaf kid needs hearing aids, nor does every deaf kid needs ASL. Maybe some need both, or just one of them. I’m so tired of that MUCH biases against the hard of hearing. The same goes for the hard of hearing against the culturally Deaf, and the Deaf against the hearing. There is much discrimination around, and so little tolerance.
(updated… found an error in the original post, and left out a sentence)
Oh,-Please!-Thank-You for making that comment! (sarcastic) I should drop my hearing aids into the toilet, since they are so cosmetic… Following the same line of tough then my parent’s voice is so cosmetic, especially when they call me across from the room to warn me to not come into the kitchen in where a glass broke or when I hear my nephew sniff behind me. Then my hard of hearing friend should take back her new hearing aids, since she haven’t been able to hear her cosmetic clients voice at her work in the Client Assistance Program (an Advocacy System for Rehabilitation Vocational clients) as she does with her old hearing aids. My university professors, a bird twit, a beeping, chiming, the waves in the ocean, the wind in the country, the ambulance siren, the fire alarm, the school bell, all that is cosmetic also. My mom doesn’t use hearing aids, it’s her CHOICE. Sound may be “cosmetic”, but I do LOVE my hearing aids more than I love my lone time without them. My father has fat fingers and is unable to retain ASL, as many people that I have met in my life that is unable to fingerspell or sign. I never liked ASL myself, nor did understand it well as a kid, and I benefited, and still do, from hearing aids.
Because you don’t like them, or haven’t benefited from them, it doesn’t mean that no one else will. Let’s stop being so “global minded” thinking about “everyone’s needs” and start thinking proactively about the *INDIVIDUAL* needs. Not every deaf kid needs hearing aids, nor does every deaf kid needs ASL. Maybe some need both, or just one of them. I’m so tired of that MUCH biases against the hard of hearing. The same goes for the hard of hearing against the culturally Deaf, and the Deaf against the hearing. There is much discrimination around and so little tolerance.
Ok, Barb and Susan, consider this. You both have children who are hearing impaired. Since they are not completely deaf hearing aids would enhance their hearing abilities and improve their learning ability and skills. I bet neither of you have had these problems because if you had you would not be acting so insensitive. You really need to develop some compassion and thank God that you do have your hearing. Therefore, insurance companies should cover them. They are vital to a child’s education and before you experience that you have no right to be so uncompassionate.