President Biden issued an executive order last week to promote competition in the American economy. The order aims to address, among other things, the exorbitant costs of hearing aids.
My family knows the sky-high prices of hearing devices all too well. Our 5-year-old daughter, Camille, and I are both hard of hearing with a rare reverse-slope hearing loss, or low-frequency loss. We paid over $3,000 for Camille’s hearing aids, none of which was covered by insurance as hearing aids are considered cosmetic and elective.
We were able to secure a grant for her FM receiver, which allows her to participate in sports and better understand teachers, and that was another $3,000. Her hearing tests — which are required annually by the audiologist to adjust her hearing aids — cost just under $800, with only a portion covered by our insurance. My own hearing aids would have been nearly $5,000 through an audiologist, but I opted for the cheaper route: Costco hearing aids for roughly $2,000. Our hearing aids must be replaced approximately every 5 years for the duration of our lives.
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