If you are living with hearing loss, hearing aids could be recommended as an effective solution to improve your hearing. However, hearing aids are often considered to be expensive. Prices can range considerably from $1,000 to more than $10,000 for a pair of hearing aids. This depends on the provider and level of technology and features required to meet your hearing and lifestyle needs.
While hearing aids may seem like a significant financial investment, the benefits to your quality of life could be substantial. Hearing aids won’t fully restore your hearing or make it perfect, but they will make sounds clearer and louder and reduce the sometimes devastating impact hearing loss can have on your life.
Hearing aids can:
To help lower your tax bill, you may already offset some of your expenses. But not all expenses are deductible, leading to many people to ask: are hearing aids tax deductible? Unfortunately, hearing aids are not tax-deductible in New Zealand. Even if they are essential for improving your health or benefit your job or business, they cannot be written off. However, you may be eligible to get some financial help towards the cost of hearing aids from the Ministry of Health.
Hearing aid funding
The Hearing Aid Funding Scheme is designed to cover the cost of hearing aids for adults and children who are eligible and are New Zealand citizens or permanently live in New Zealand. As an adult, you could be eligible for the scheme if you:
This funding scheme only covers the price of hearing aids. It does not subsidise hearing aid batteries, hearing assessments or the cost of fitting. Funding for adults is only available once every six years and only three times in six years for children.
This scheme provides $511.11 per hearing aid to adults aged over 16 who have been diagnosed with a permanent hearing loss. They also need to be New Zealand citizens residing in New Zealand or permanent residents and not covered by the Hearing Aid Funding Scheme. The scheme doesn’t cover hearing evaluation or hearing aid fitting costs.
The financial support for each hearing aid is only available one every six years.
If you want to reduce the cost of your hearing aids, there are funding options available for you. To find out more about what you may qualify for, speak to your hearing care professional.
It's time to finally treat your hearing loss. Sign up for a free consultation with a licensed hearing care professional today to determine if you have hearing loss. It’s the start of your journey towards better hearing.
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