Are there financial assistance programs for families to help with purchasing home hearing assistive technology (HAT)?

There are several options of grants and funding sources that may be able to help families who do not have the financial means to purchase home hearing aids or have insurance that covers it.

• The Children's Hearing Aid Program is provided by the Florida Department of Health and managed by Sertoma Speech & Hearing Foundation of Florida. This program is designed to provide assistance in obtaining hearing aids and other hearing technologies for children residing in Florida aged 0-18 who do not have private insurance or have insurance that does not cover hearing technologies.
   
• Another source that might be able to help on an individual basis is through the benevolence of a charitable organization in your community. Lions Club, Shriners Club, Kiwanis, Rotary Club, Elks Lodge, and the American Legion associations have been known to support students with disabilities for a myriad of purposes. Interested families should seek out local chapters of these organizations in their area. Oftentimes these organizations may ask for the family to submit a letter to justify the financial need.
   
• Starkey Hearing Foundation prepares and provides hearing aids and custom earmolds for qualified patients.
   
• The Florida Department of Health’s Florida Coordinating Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has a link for “Finding Financial Assistance for Hearing Aid Purchases,” which navigates to the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology, Incorporated (FAAST). This organization can support families with the trial and procurement of assistive technology devices through the New Horizon Loan Program or by contacting them.
   
• Phonak has a list of organizations that can serve as funding sources for personal Roger systems if those would be applicable for your students. 
   
• The Hearing Loss Association of America has a financial assistance webpage with great resources for helping families to find hearing assistance technology. 
   
• The Miracle-Ear Foundation is a great resource for helping children and families to get hearing aids. You can visit a Miracle-Ear dispenser or check out the foundation on their webpage. 
   
• For hearing aids that can be used AT SCHOOL for a specific student, check with Lend an Ear Outreach.  
   
• United Healthcare Children’s Fund provides financial assistance for families with children that have medical needs not covered or not fully covered by their commercial health insurance plans such as hearing aids.
   
• A student who is receiving services through the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation may be eligible for assistance in procuring hearing aids, should they be deemed necessary to meet the goals established in the student’s Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE).

 

Special Note: Districts are responsible for providing amplification, personal or school HAT, when the student is at school and the IEP team determines it is assistive technology and the student requires it for FAPE. See your district’s ESE Policies and Procedures (ESE P&Ps) for more details. 

See also the RMTC-D/HH FAQ “Can a student who is deaf/hard of hearing take their school-provided hearing assistive technology (e.g. FM system, hearing aids, etc.) home?”

Do you know of a resource we missed? Email suggestions to info@rmtcdhh.org.