Hearing-aid funding kicks in

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This article was published 07/06/2023 (864 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province is taking applications for its first hearing aid funding program for seniors.

As much as $2,000 each is available for Manitobans 65 or older who need a hearing aid.

Seniors can apply by submitting an application, a proof-of-income statement, and documentation of an official hearing assessment to the Manitoba seniors hearing aid program, located within provincial services at 100-114 Garry St., in person or by mail.

Those approved will be notified by mail, and they’ll then take the letter to a hearing-aid provider. Seniors who make less than $80,000 a year are eligible. Seniors on social assistance are eligible through a separate program.

A fund of $12.6 million is being introduced to pay for the hearing aid claims, Seniors Minister Scott Johnston announced Wednesday.

Parts of the grant program were modelled after similar programs in Alberta and Ontario, as well as after the children’s hearing aid program in Manitoba, which provides partial coverage for children with hearing loss.

Irene Thomas, whose daughter needed to use the pediatric program, is in the process of trying to get hearing aids for her 82-year-old aunt.

She’s been waiting for more information about the government program since it was first announced in March. At that time, applications were not yet being accepted.

“Not being able to hear properly impacts your life enormously,” Thomas said, noting hearing loss affects many different age groups, not just the elderly.

“You have a lot of isolation, because you can’t communicate.”

Thomas is hoping there will be more awareness about the grant program, including among hearing aid providers, and more support for seniors with hearing loss, because even on fixed incomes, they can’t afford not to have the hearing aids, she said.

“Communication is priceless.”

An estimated 6,000 Manitoba seniors could be eligible for hearing aids through the program, based on provincial data.

In a statement, the provincial spokesman said Manitobans on Employment and Income Assistance have their prescribed hearing aids covered as long as they’re prescribed by a hearing-aid dealer.

“Hearing aids are eligible for both the provincial and federal medical expense tax credits, which together cover up to 25.8 per cent of the costs of hearing aids (and other medical expenses) above a certain threshold (for 2022, 3 per cent of net income or $2,479 for federal and $1,728 provincial).

In addition, the federal government’s non-insured health benefits program provides eligible First Nations and Inuit with coverage for a range of health benefits, including hearing devices,” the statement reads.

“It’s my hope that when I get my aunt these new hearing aids, I’ll have a line on an iPhone, and she’ll be able to communicate with people, with family members she hasn’t talked to in a long time,” Thomas said.

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com