Hearing Aids

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Bill N said:
I am retired military so not eligible for VA but I see that Medicare does not pay for hearing aids.  So are there any retired military folks here who use hearing aids and obtained them from any other source than cash purchase?  I certainly am not objecting to VA issuing them but wondering if there is a way for me to obtain a set without putting out a lot of cash - something not in big supply here.
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Being retired military, can you still become a member of the VA?  You should sign up and if you can prove that your hearing loss is service connected, they'll get you a pair and you may even get a disability of 10% for hearing loss and 10% for tinnitus. Tinnitus is ringing in your ears. When I was in bed and it was real quiet, I'd hear a very faint steady tone which is tinnitus. I was getting close to $275.00 per month for the hearing issue then my disability went to 100% for having AL Amyloidosis caused by exposure to agent orange while in Vietnam.
 
Bill, your timing is wonderful. I have been building my keyboard area and I got the keyboard Chromebook amplifier today. I had to turn it all the way up to get the volume I wanted and it was breaking up a bit so I had to back off on the volume. I am sure with the new hearing aids I will have more than enough volume.
 
Rene T said:
Being retired military, can you still become a member of the VA?  You should sign up and if you can prove that your hearing loss is service connected, they'll get you a pair and you may even get a disability of 10% for hearing loss and 10% for tinnitus. Tinnitus is ringing in your ears. When I was in bed and it was real quiet, I'd hear a very faint steady tone which is tinnitus. I was getting close to $275.00 per month for the hearing issue then my disability went to 100% for having AL Amyloidosis caused by exposure to agent orange while in Vietnam.
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Rene, do you recall what paperwork you had to submit for the hearing loss/tinnitus rating? I'm a Vietnam vet and just had a hearing test at the VA. My new hearing aids are on order.
 
HueyPilotVN said:
The VFW , Amvers, or other service organizations should have the forms and will help you with them.⁰
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I went with the NH VFW State Service Officer. Try to find someone high up on the chain.I think you'd get better results then just going to one of the clubs and using one of their members.  At the same time, have them file a "letter of intent to file". Once you have that, you have a year to do the filing for any claim you may have. If it gets approved, they'll pay you back to that date it was submitted. This would be if you think you'd have a claim for something other than hearing loss. They'll submit the claim for hearing loss/tinnitus and they'll pay you back to that date if it gets approved. .
 
My initial contact with the process of applying for a disability rating was back in 2003.

I was in the VA hospital in Loma Linda, California recovering frim a triple bypass open heart surgery.

A fellow from one of the service organizations stopped in to visit with me.  He asked if I was a Viet Nam vet and if I had type 2 diabetes.  I said yes and he told me that I could probably get a 30% disability rating with the VA.  I did and for years it basically paid my co pay for my medicines.

Several years later my primary care physician told me to look into having a review of my rating.  They had added Ischemic Heart Disease to the list for Agent Orange.

The VA had my health records since I had the surgery performed at Loma Linda University Hospital for the VA.

It turned out that after about 6 months they awarded me a rating of 100% retroactive to the surgery date in 2003.

The fellow that informed me of this on the phone asked if I was sitting down. 

He then told me that I would receive a deposit directly into my checking account for $196,016.00 tax free and about $3,000.00 a month tax free for the rest of my life.  I did about fall off my chair.  The current monthly amount is $3,165.70.

That was my Home Coming Parade....

I tell this story frequently because it can make a big difference in the life of a veteran.

I think I told Rene (Rainy) this story also.
 
That is a great story Bill. I got the Phonaks today safely. I tried them and they need to be reprogrammed. I cannot get them to pair with Bluetooth. I will have to send them in for reprogramming.
 
HueyPilotVN said:
He then told me that I would receive a deposit directly into my checking account for $196,016.00 tax free and about $3,000.00 a month tax free for the rest of my life.  I did about fall off my chair.  The current monthly amount is $3,165.70.
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Bill you may want to check on that. If you add your Renae to your claim, you should be getting $3227.00 a month.  You may be able to get it retroactive. Give the VA a call.
 
A little over a year and a half ago, my wife dragged me to a local audiologist for a free hearing test.  I knew I needed aids, but was avoiding it as a "guy thing".
After seeing my result the lady doing the test asked if I was a vet.  When I said I was, she recommended that I call the VA.  I did this, repeated the test for them, and have been wearing VA supplied aids for the last year and a half.  At the time, for some reason, I never mentioned my tinnitus. 
Several months ago one of you guys(Rene, I think)mentioned being awarded a 20% rating for your hearing loss.  Being the kind of guy who doesn't look for help from anyone or any agency, I had never thought to file a claim with the VA, even when I got my aids from them.
After that post, I got on the VA web site and filed a claim.  After some initial confusion caused by the fact that my home of record is in Arkansas and I am currently located in California, they called me just yesterday telling me that in the next few days a local audiologist will be calling to set up an appointment(nearest VA to where I'm at is over 200 miles away, in Reno).
I want to thank you guys for this discussion.  I'm not really looking for a check, but if I get one, so much the better.  This time I'll know to say something to the audiologist about the tinnitus and I may get better aids as a result.

BTW, being camped right next to Bishop Creek for the last 5 months has been a god-send.  The creek provides constant white noise that blocks out the tinnitus about 90% of the time.  Another month and a half and I'll be headed back to quiet Quartzsite to listen to the "cicadas" all winter.
 
Old_Crow said:
BTW, being camped right next to Bishop Creek for the last 5 months has been a god-send.  The creek provides constant white noise that blocks out the tinnitus about 90% of the time.  Another month and a half and I'll be headed back to quiet Quartzsite to listen to the "cicadas" all winter.
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Wally, I'm curious about the Bishop Creek area.  I'm sending you a PM regarding  your experience. 

Sorry to hijack the thread guys.  Now back to hearing aids. 

What?

What?

Didn't hear that.  ;)
 
garyb1st said:
Wally, I'm curious about the Bishop Creek area.  I'm sending you a PM regarding  your experience. 

Sorry to hijack the thread guys.  Now back to hearing aids. 

What?

What?

Didn't hear that.  ;)
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garyb1st said:
Wally, I'm curious about the Bishop Creek area.  I'm sending you a PM regarding  your experience. 

Sorry to hijack the thread guys.  Now back to hearing aids. 

What?

What?

Didn't hear that.  ;)
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Huh?

Bring it on.  If they'll have me, I'll be back next year, too.
 
I spent 10 years in the US Navy. Three of those years on the flight deck of a Aircraft Carrier flight deck. More than a year off of the coast of View Nam. When I went to the VA to inquire about health and other benefits, they asked me about my annual income. I told them. They said that I had way too much annual income to qualify for any VA benefits. Is that true. Can you qualify for VA benefits without an income threshold amount?
 
LTG said:
I spent 10 years in the US Navy. Three of those years on the flight deck of a Aircraft Carrier flight deck. More than a year off of the coast of View Nam. When I went to the VA to inquire about health and other benefits, they asked me about my annual income. I told them. They said that I had way too much annual income to qualify for any VA benefits. Is that true. Can you qualify for VA benefits without an income threshold amount?
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Any vet can get VA healthcare.  Your income will determine the cost of that healthcare.  If you get a service connected disability rating, that will also drive the benefit cost level.  VA benefits are many and varied.  Go see your local VA Benefits Administrator.
 
HueyPilotVN said:
I do not remember even being asked about income.

When I was first seen at a VA about 25 years ago I was making about 150K a year.
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I just signed up in the VA 1 year ago and like Bill said, I was never asked what my income was and I ended up getting a 100% disability.
 
LTG said:
I spent 10 years in the US Navy. Three of those years on the flight deck of a Aircraft Carrier flight deck. More than a year off of the coast of View Nam. When I went to the VA to inquire about health and other benefits, they asked me about my annual income. I told them. They said that I had way too much annual income to qualify for any VA benefits. Is that true. Can you qualify for VA benefits without an income threshold amount?
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Sounds like a bunch of bull to me. You should contact the VFW, DAV or the American Legion and explain to them what the VA Rep told you.
 
Got the call for my appointment yesterday afternoon.  Next Thursday, in Bishop, 12 miles from my doorstep. 
For all the bad stuff I've heard about VA care, it's always gone smoothly and quickly for me.
 
Old_Crow said:
Got the call for my appointment yesterday afternoon.  Next Thursday, in Bishop, 12 miles from my doorstep. 
For all the bad stuff I've heard about VA care, it's always gone smoothly and quickly for me.
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When I had my hearing test done at a private audiologist, they even paid me for travel and it was only 5 miles away. I think I got $6.00.
 
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