All NZ citizen’s and residents are eligible every 6 years for a subsidy of $511 per aid.

If you fit into any of the following criteria the Ministry of Health will fund more of the costs of your hearing aids and accessories, however they will not cover any of the practice’s costs of applying for this extra funding nor will they cover the cost of fitting the hearing aids; you will need to pay for this yourself.

• A severe hearing loss in both ears that dates from your childhood
• Two disabilities one being hearing the other either intellectual or a severe eyesight disability
• A severe sudden hearing loss in both ears that lasts for more than 6 months

IF YOU HAVE A COMMUNITY SERVICE CARD THEN YOU MAY GET EXTRA FUNDING IF:

• You either work 30 hours per week
• Are the sole carer of young children

As you can see these are quite demanding criteria and the number of people that these apply to are quite small. Your audiologist will discuss with you if we are able to apply on your behalf for this extra funding at your hearing assessment appointment.

If you have a war pension for Sensory Neural (sensorineural) hearing loss and or tinnitus you will probably be eligible for Veteran’s Affairs to pay for your hearing aids every 5 years. However Veteran’s Affairs only fund the most basic types of hearing aids and your Audiologist will need to ask for permission to fit you with better types of aids. In some cases these more expensive aids may require you to top up the difference. Your audiologist will discuss what is best for you.

Veteran’s Affairs pay a battery allowance on top of your War Pension and they pay for repairs. If you were in the armed services prior to 1974 you may still be able to apply for a War pension for deafness. After 1974 all claims are handled through either ACC or the Ministry of Defence.

Prior to 2011 ACC paid all costs for those with an accepted claim for hearing loss. It did not matter whether the claim was for a hearing loss caused by trauma or working in noise.

Since 1st January 2011 ACC will only part pay for all items including hearing aids. They will not fund any help for people whose hearing loss is less than the 6% threshold limit. The proportion they will part pay will be determined by ACC when new hearing aids are requested. The degree of hearing loss attributed to noise and other factors including age is calculated off tables produced by the National Acoustic Laboratories in Australia. At our practice the minimal cost the claimant will need to pay for each hearing aid is usually between $300 and $500.

In addition, ACC only subsidises two appointments a year and pays $200 plus GST every two years per person, NOT per aid, for repairs. Batteries are still free and travel can still be claimed. To make a claim through ACC for hearing loss the following steps must be followed. Hearing loss claims are usually for ongoing noise exposure but trauma and medical misadventure can also be considered.

• See your audiologist and have a hearing test. The audiologist will send the results to your own Doctor (GP)
• See your Doctor and check that he/she has filled out the forms for you and sent them off to ACC
• ACC will send out a form asking questions about your work history, previous hearing tests and other factors. Please fill this out as soon as possible and send it back to ACC as you only have a limited time to do this
• ACC will arrange for you to see an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Specialist Doctor. He will retest your hearing and go over your work history, this is reported to ACC
• ACC will make a decision as to whether you are eligible for help
• ACC will send you back to your audiologist for an Audiometric report to check that you do need hearing aids. A report is then emailed to ACC
• ACC send confirmation as to how much they and the Ministry of Health intend to pay towards your hearing aids
• Your audiologist will contact you for an appointment to discuss what hearing aids you would like to arrange to try. The audiologist will also retest your hearing at the same time if it seems too much time has elapsed since your original visit and hearing test
• Your hearing aids are ordered and an appointment is made for you to have them fitted
• The audiologist uses a computer to match the hearing aids to your hearing loss. He/she will also go over their functions, maintenance and use. You will need to pay your part of the cost when you take the hearing aids away from the clinic. You also need to get the hearing aids insured that day
• You have better hearing!

Work and Income NZ will allow you to loan up to $1000 towards the cost of your hearing aid if you fulfil their criteria for loans. You can also apply for a disability allowance to help pay for batteries and audiology visits as well as other items like amplified telephones. Please talk to your audiologist for the appropriate form to take to WINZ.