This is grass-roots at its finest. I started this blog but I hope someday to include a long list of people and organizations when the question "Who is TXSICHA?" comes up in the future. Will you join us and be a part of it?
My name is Tamara Joyce-Wylie. I am a hearing aid wearing mom of 4, the youngest 2 of whom also wear hearing aids. My dad wears hearing aids that he got as hand-me-downs when mine were replaced due to a need for more power. I doubt he ever would have spent the money to purchase them on his own. I am a voter, I am a constituent, I am a consumer who pays what seems like an exorbitant amount for insurance with no guarantee it will cover the largest annual expenditure for medical needs our family has - hearing related expenses. And I decided it was time to do something about it!
I began loosing my hearing in my early 30's after the birth of my first child. As first I was told that hearing aids would not help, and I went several years descending into a world that was becoming more and more quiet, thinking all the time there was nothing to be done to help me. About two years after my initial dismal experience with a hearing professional, I had returned to college and decided to get another opinion from the audiology program clinic on campus since it was free to students. At that time, I was told that hearing aids would help with my moderate-to-severe loss and that it would cost about $4,000, oh, and by the way, insurance didn't cover them.
As a single mother going to college and working part time, there was no way I was going to be able to afford hearing aids. Again, I went through the process of learning to accept living in a quiet world, only this time it was more difficult, knowing there was help available, I just couldn't afford it.
At the time, I was working part time in my father's small real estate development company and his few employees were covered under a group insurance plan. Part of my responsibilities included handling the insurance. When we were going through the renewal process and I was signing off on all the final paperwork, I noticed a page that had several optional riders listed and places for me to sign that we were offered but declined that coverage. One of those riders was for speech and hearing coverage. I immediately picked up the phone and called our insurance office and asked about the rider. She at first told me we didn't need any of those and to just sign the paper. Instead I insisted that she find out if this would cover hearing aids and if it did, how much it would cost. She called back shortly with the information and a new quote - yes the rider would cover hearing aids and the increase in our monthly premiums would be $7 for the company! A tiny amount for coverage I desperately needed. The rider was added to our policy, and I was finally able to get the hearing aids I had done without for years.
While they aren't perfect and my hearing was still not that great, my hearing aids completely changed my life. I did not realize how much I was missing until the aids helped me hear again. I had been slipping into depression, cutting myself off from social activities because the effort to communicate was just too hard. My hearing aids gave me the confidence to try again.
Fast forward three years to when my two young daughters were both diagnosed with hearing loss with in weeks of each other. Suddenly we needed four more aids, in addition to the recommendation that my aids be replaced with more powerful models sue to a decrease in my won hearing. The girls were 7 months and 3 years old at the time of their diagnosis; within that narrow window of opportunity for the best speech and language development. Clear access to language is critical for a child's educational success and quality of life. I was so thankful that I had already been down this road with our insurance company and we had coverage in place to provide aids for the girls.
Unfortunately most people in Texas do not have that same opportunity for coverage. most group insurance companies do not choose the rider and do not offer coverage for hearing aids. In addition to the aids, there is the cost of audiological evaluations and ear molds. In a young child who is growing fast, ear molds may need to be replaced as often as every 2-3 months. For adults with hearing loss, being able to access communication in a meeting, on the phone, with customers, may mean the difference between being able to work and loosing a job, not to mention the psychological and relational impact hearing loss has on a person's quality of life. But more about the benefits of hearing aids later. I just wanted to introduce myself.
If you have a story about how hearing aids have helped you/your child or how the cost or insurance has affected your ability to purchase hearing aids, please send me an email. With your permission, I may include it in he blog.
Spread the word, join the fight, let's make this happen!
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