If you or a loved one are looking for a cheaper solution to hearing aids than the industry standard of up to $7000, you need to look into the Hearing For Life program.

Find out how you can get affordable hearing aids by clicking that link. There is also a great article on the lower half of the page that answers the question I hear time and again, “Why are hearing aids so expensive?”

Check it out and start your journey to better hearing. The Hearing For Life program is breaking the sound barrier of high cost hearing.

Bob Bare

 Employers, Associations, and groups of ten or more are being alerted to the new “Hearing Aid Benefit” plan being offered by Hearing Haven LLC in Texas. This program allows organizations to offer their members hearing aid coverage.  There is no up-front investment to join.
 
Persons who wish to hear more clearly in certain situations and improve communication challenges by the use of digital hearing aids are able to do so by joining the plan, which allows adding hearing instruments to a benefit package within reach of every group.
 
Medicare and most traditional insurance companies do not pay for hearing aids, which can cost up to $7000 a set, putting them out of the reach of many consumers. Hearing Haven, LLC believes that by adding the “Hearing Aid Benefit” plan to a group’s benefit package, members of associations and organizations will receive great benefits in an affordable manner.
 
The plan can be offered in several ways, or customized as needed to fit any need. There is no cost to add the Hearing Aid coverage to a benefit plan, and charges are incurred only by those members receiving digital hearing aids.
 
Plan C, which is no cost to the employer or group, allows members to receive free hearing evaluations and checkups. If Hearing Instruments would be beneficial and are desired by the person with a hearing loss, they receive a discounted activation fee as a group member, to be fit with hearing aid technology appropriate to their hearing.
 
Plan B, which is now offered by the City of Rockwall, Texas to their employees, allows the employer or group to pay half of the activation fee, and one half of each monthly subscription, so that the investment is shared equally by the employees and the employer. 
 
Plan A, is for employers, or assisted living and retirement communities, who wish to offer full coverage for hearing aids to their group. They pay the activation fee and 100% of the monthly subscription fee, but only for those participants that actually are fit with hearing aids.
 
Custom Plans are also available, for groups that want to offer members the benefits of receiving hearing assistance, and have special requirements.
 
After the group benefit discount, the cost is typically $500 to $1000 for the activation fee, and then $77 or $97 per month. These fees are only for those members who choose to acquire hearing assistance.
 
In addition to the hearing aid benefit plan, the member would receive free hearing aid batteries, free follow-up visits, and free adjustments. Repairs and a one-time loss and damage coverage are also included, with the length of the warranty determined by the manufacturer. A variety of major manufacturers are being offered.
 
Every 48 months, under the Hearing Aid Benefit, those who renew their coverage become eligible to receive new hearing aids. The benefit plan is “portable”, and can be maintained by the individual if they change jobs or move. 
 
 
The group hearing aid benefit plan is administered for Hearing Haven LLC by New Perceptions in Hearing, of Irving Texas. For additional information and to answer your questions about receiving the benefits of hearing aid coverage, contact Hearing Haven LLC at 888-412-3337, or visit www.HearingHaven.com for additional contact information.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/12/prweb3342294.htm
http://www.NewsReleaseWire.com/29841

“There are a lot of good brands, and some are better than others, but because of competition, most of the “respected” manufacturers do have good technology. But they are kind of like cars – each brand has its “Chevette”, it’s “Malibu”, and it’s “Corvette”. So even though someone tells you “Siemens is the best brand”, that may not be true – especially if you compare Siemens entry level “Chevette” to some other brand’s “top of the line” aid.

Here is something to save you money, whenever you do buy a hearing aid(s). Lots of brands own several different companies. (Or at least utilize the same circuitry). For example:

Beltone $$$    ——– GN Resound $$   ———– Interton $
NuEar $$$     ——— Starkey $$      ————— MicroTech $
Miracle Ear $$$ —– Siemens $$  —————–Rexton $
Phonak $$$    ———Unitron $$ 

Notice the ratings of $$$ for more expensive, $$ for mid priced, and $ for lower average costs. I did over-generalize to make a point here, and that is that many times a franchised or “name brand” hearing aid can be purchased under a different name at lower cost.

This is all the more reason to pay attention to the person and the local company you are working with. I would rather find someone I feel I can trust to explain a technology I am unfamiliar with, than to try to become an expert myself. You would do well to find an expert you feel you can trust.

Referrals are a good place to start, when looking for a credible business. I am working with the national release of “New Perceptions in Hearing”, which is making hearing aids available on a cell phone rate plan. We are relying on referrals and a screening processes to develop our list of dispensers and audiologists that we will invite to join us in the new program. You can help me.

If you have done business with someone you consider to be an excellent audiologist and/or dispenser, please let us know about them at suggestions@hearinghaven.com. I’d love to compile a list of “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” practices. Just let me know the Business Name, City, State, name of the audiologist/hearing aid dispenser and the reasons you would or wouldn’t recommend them. This way, if anyone ever needs a referral in your area, I can share the “good” names, but I imagine I will probably not tell anyone who the “bad apples” are!

Thank you for your time. Have a blessed day. We do have our new website up now. Visit http://www.hearingaidsforlife.com and let me know what you think!

Bob Bare
http://www.HearingHaven.com/
http://www.HearingAidsForLife.com/

Hearing is one of the most important senses that we have.  Someone once asked Helen Keller:

“If you had a choice between having your hearing back, and having your eyesight back, which would you choose”?  Helen Keller didn’t even hesitate.  She said she’d take her hearing.

Our sense of hearing greatly affects our quality of life.  It is part of sharing with the people we love, and a big part of successful relationships.

I remember my father coming home very discouraged from work one day. This occurred forty years ago, and was a defining moment in choosing my career. My dad was upset. He had made several mistakes at work that day that he felt made him look stupid (he was actually quite intelligent). The mistakes he made were because of his hearing loss.

My father’s supervisor had asked him to perform a project in a certain way, and my dad misunderstood him. It wasn’t the first time. My Dad was embarrassed to ask his boss to repeat himself, and would assume he meant the obvious course of action. He often found himself in that conundrum.

Maybe you’ve experienced a similar situation yourself. Have you ever missed the punch line of a joke? Did you pretend you “got” it, and laugh anyway, or did you ask the person to repeat it, and hope you wouldn’t frustrate them? Frustration is a real and frequent reaction from the person who is misunderstood.

I would like to make some up front suggestions. Allow me to be real with you. You have nothing to lose, and much to gain.

• Stop pretending that you hear things that you miss, and be frank about telling people how they can help you hear better. For example, say “I’m sorry, but I have a problem understanding you in a noisy place like this. Can you repeat yourself?” Or, “…can we move to the next room”?
• Other people are not aware of your problem hearing them unless told.  Get out of denial and do everything you can to improve your odds of doing better.
• Do you know exactly what your hearing loss is? Do you have a greater problem with vowels, or with consonants? If you haven’t had a hearing evaluation recently, get one, and ask for a copy of it.

Are you still with me? I don’t want to be offensive to anyone, but I do want to help.  There are many ways to improve your communications, and we’ll be addressing many of them. If you have subjects you would like to see covered, please email: suggestions@hearinghaven.com, and I will add it to the list of concerns to address.

O.K., let’s go over the following additional ideas.

• Sit in a place in the room that has good lighting. It will help you to see the face of the person speaking to you, especially in noise.
• Ask people to get your attention before they start talking to you. For example, they might tap on your shoulder or make sure they’re in front of you so that you notice them.
• Carry a notepad and pen with you, and ask people to write down names, addresses, or financial amounts down for you “so I’m sure I have that correctly.”
• Repeat what you think you heard. “So you want me to bring the dessert on Saturday evening?”
• Don’t even try to have a conversation with someone in another room. Get closer and make sure you both have eye contact.
• If someone shouts because you don’t understand them, calmly tell them that you would understand them better in a loud but normal voice. Shouting distorts speech and makes it more difficult to understand!  Do the same (don’t shout) when someone asks you to repeat.
• When talking with someone else with a hearing loss, use more words and give them a summary of what you are about to tell them. For example, “Let me tell you about what happened to Aunt June at the grocery store last night.”

Thanks for taking the time to let me share with you. At the time of this writing, I’m sitting in my office, on the tenth floor with a view of downtown Dallas, Texas. The skyline has disappeared, due to a smoke blowing in from grass fires in West Texas. I can still see across the street, but my view of downtown Dallas is gone.

When people who have the most common type of hearing loss are in a noisy place, the “distance” they can hear from becomes obscured, just like my view. In noise, remember:

• In a noisy place, the closer you can get to what you want to hear, the better. If possible, sit in a booth, not at a table. If you have a choice, sit with your back to the wall, so there is no noise coming from behind you.

Thanks again for joining me. May the rest of your day be pleasant and positive!

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