Hearing loss questions, answered

Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) does not pay for hearing aids or for exams to fit them. You pay 100% of those costs.

Part B does cover diagnostic hearing and balance exams when your doctor or provider orders them, and you can see an audiologist once every 12 months without an order for certain conditions.

Many Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans add hearing benefits, including hearing aids. Check each plan's details. Since 2022, adults with mild to moderate hearing loss can also buy lower-cost hearing aids over the counter.

It can be. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), hearing loss is a disability when it substantially limits a major life activity such as hearing or communicating. That gives you a right to reasonable accommodations at work, school, and in public places, such as captioning or interpreters.

Qualifying for Social Security disability benefits or a VA disability rating is a separate question, and each uses its own hearing test standards.

Researchers have not proven that hearing loss causes dementia, but the two are strongly linked. The Lancet Commission on dementia names hearing loss as one of the largest risk factors people can change.

In the 2023 ACHIEVE study, hearing care slowed thinking and memory decline by about 48% over three years in older adults who were already at higher risk. Getting your hearing checked is one of the simplest steps you can take.

It depends on the type. Conductive hearing loss, caused by things like earwax, fluid, or an ear infection, can often be treated and improved.

Sensorineural hearing loss, caused by damage to the inner ear or hearing nerve (from aging or loud noise, for example), is usually permanent. Hearing aids and cochlear implants can help a lot.

Sudden hearing loss is a medical emergency. See a doctor right away. Treatment within the first days gives the best chance of getting hearing back.

Beethoven began losing his hearing in his late twenties and was almost completely deaf by the end of his life. He wrote his Ninth Symphony when he could barely hear.

Helen Keller was not born deaf or blind. An illness at about 19 months old took both her sight and hearing. She went on to become a world-famous author and advocate.

The VA rates hearing loss using two hearing tests: a speech test and a tone test. Many hearing loss ratings are 0%, which pays no monthly money, but a service-connected rating still gives you VA hearing care, including hearing aids.

Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) is rated separately, at up to 10%, and is the most common service-connected disability among U.S. veterans. A higher rating is possible when hearing loss is more severe.