Information Provided by Col (Retd.) Des Travers

With effect from 01 April ’21 a mechanism has been put in place to facilitate hearing testing and hearing aid acquisition especially for those whose income and circumstance may have been affected by the current pandemic. This entitles a person with the requisite PRSI stamps to a grant-aid of €1,000 towards hearing aids. Quality hearing aids on offer can be provided at that price.

 

In addition to this assistance, hearing aid providers have also available quality hearing aids for those who are ineligible for the grant. Such hearing aids are of standard quality and are considered by the writer to be of exceptional value, that is €1,000 for a basic model hearing aid. There may be price increases where models of these aids have bluetooth and/or self-charging variants as additional features. These offers, it must be noted, are specific to some brands* and may bring the price up incrementally to €1,400 – €1,500.

 

Some hearing aid providers can visit an applicants home and conduct tests on site. Take note that some providers charge a fee for such visits; some do not.**

 

While these offers are very good value, it is recommended that the applicant check out the websites of hearing aid providers. It is also criticallyimportant to negotiate prices (if any) of visits and of types of aids before proceeding as some providers seem reluctant to volunteer these deals especially to the non-eligible for grant applicant.

 

An independent ‘off the record’ assist with this matter is available on request.

 

Where there may be variations between offers on websites and what has been stated here, please accept the website offer once it has been confirmed before booking, as not all sites were clear about what was on offer.

 

[* The brands on offer in one circumstance were Starkey and Phonak. These are excellent brands, the latter being one of the global giants of aids manufacturing. 

** SpecSavers charge a fee, Independent Living and Hearing do not. However the final cost of the aids may reflect an increase where such visits have not been costed.]